The South Pasadena Unified School District can breathe easier after a measure to renew a $2.3 million parcel tax for funding academic programs and maintaining low class sizes passed this week in overwhelming fashion. Over 79 percent of voters who participated in SPUSD’s Special Parcel Tax Election voted yes for Measure S, which needed only 66.6 percent of votes to pass.
Of the 4,448 votes cast after the final ballots were received Tuesday night, a final count showed 3,511 were in favor of renewing the tax.
In a joint statement, Measure S Committee Co-Chairs Saida Staudenmaier and Sara Shaffer said, “Measure S is a community lead effort to ensure that vital programming is supported in our school district. Our volunteers worked tirelessly to inform and engage South Pas residents and that is reflected in the YES on S turnout we saw on Election Day for our schools. A large margin of victory is difficult to achieve in any election. This was no exception. We think it speaks to the overwhelming support for what makes South Pasadena a desirable place to live. We are grateful for the volunteers and all those who voted to pass Measure S.”
A statement from the South Pasadena Board of Education released Wednesday thanked the Measure S Committee for its “dedicated, countless hours” of work in engaging the community throughout the campaign.
The Board also thanked South Pasadena’s residents for choosing to support its youth. “A community that votes to support its children set us on a path to a better future,” the statement read. “South Pasadena has proven over and over again, in good times and bad, that they will provide that support. On behalf of the South Pasadena Board of Education, our students and staff, thank you, South Pasadena, for having confidence in the hopeful future we are creating through our schools.”
