Students of Tomales High this week said they have been inspired and motivated by art, music, and drama programs - all enrichment programs funded by Shoreline School District's parcel taxes.
First approved in 1984 and renewed every fourth year since, the parcel tax is up for another vote Nov. 5 as Measure B. The tax has risen gradually over 12 years. Measure B, however, would authorize a $120 annual tax that would stay the same through 2001.
Shoreline students from kindergarten through 12th grade sound happy with the programs the tax has made possible.
"As a freshman, I wasn't really interested in anything," said senior Adam Niehuser. "And then I found art. It made me want to pass all my other classes."
"I was going to quit school for independent study," said senior Ian Favell. "But they offered me more music classes, giving me a chance to advance quicker in music theory."
While there is no organized opposition to the parcel tax, school officials note Measure B needs a two-thirds majority to pass.
"If people start thinking this [tax renewal] is a matter of fact, and don't come into the polls, we could end up losing," said Superintendent Roberto Salinas. "Music, art, and counseling programs would all be negated."
To be prepared in case Measure B fails, Shoreline trustees will meet at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, to put a fallback tax measure on the March 4 ballot.
Measure B's monies would raise $567,000, or 9.1 percent of the district's budget, noted Laura Barthouski, district business director.
Not only would the tax maintain ongoing counseling, physical education, and industrial arts programs, its funds are designated to expand district Spanish, computer, and library classes, Salinas said. The funding priorities were determined at a series of community meetings last spring, he added.
"Basically our libraries are rooms where books are set up," Salinas said. "[With Measure B funds] we would hire one fulltime certificated librarian/computer specialist to inventory volumes to see that we have current editions and they are in the right concentrations between subjects."
The specialist also would help students learn to use the Internet, he said.
"There was no computer program before the property-tax funds," said computer teacher Evvy Eisen of West Marin School, noting the school now has 13 Macintosh LC computers. "The next big change is that we're going online."
Online capabilities would make a tremendous difference in research capabilities, especially for the geographically isolated students in West Marin, she said.
"By using e-mail hopefully students will be interacting with other schools and maybe other countries," Eisen said.
With Measure B, drama could also be expanded if that's how schools want to spend part of the funds, Salinas said. At Tomales High, parcel-tax funds are the sole support for art, music, and drama.
English and drama teacher Ellen Webster said her Tomales High drama classes have gone from seven students three years ago to 40 enrolled this year.
"I probably wouldn't even be here without music or drama," said Tomales High junior Brady Schecter. "I plan to move to New York for [college]. These classes give me more experience and qualifications to get into the better schools."