Mark Graff's Home Page

 

 

From October 21, 2006:

Here is my Open Letter in support of Measure I that was mailed to every household in the District.

From October 2, 2006:

Here are copies of the informational mailer for the LHPUSD "Measure I" bond. There are two sides. A and B. Side A has the address portion. There are three versions, one each for La Honda, Loma Mar, and Pescadero. (They are identical, of course, except for the "Postal Patron" city and zip code.)  Side B, which is the "inside" of the mailer, can also function as a single-sheet flyer.

From August, 2006:

I've announced I won't be running for re-election. It's been a great experience, and I want to thank everyone who gave me the opportunity and worked with me to improve our schools.

The filing deadline for candidacy has been extended to Wednesday, August 16th. If you think you might be interested in serving, check out my little summary of what it's like, So You Want To Be a School Board Trustee.

From March 25, 2006:

I'm making available here two new documents relating to the Provisional Appointment we made on the 9th (see below). 

First, an updated Procedure for Making a Provisional Appointment. (It's very similar to the one we used, but I have adapted it to make it suitable for a wider set of districts.)

Second, a one-page description I wrote of the duties of a School Board member (as I see them). I call it, So You Want To Be a School Board Trustee.

From March 9, 2006:

We will making a Provisional Appointment of a Board Trustee at the  March 9th, 2006 meeting. The draft procedures for the selection are here.

From April 2005:

Now that the LHE drinking water project is nearing completion, the School Board has expressed concern about any potential impact on the quality and safety of the drinking water posed by the activities of the new Clos de la Tech vineyards on the hills above the reservoir.

Here is the April 21st, 2005 Resolution Expressing Concern for the Quality of the Water Supply and the Health and Safety of Students and Staff at La Honda School.

From December 2004:

You can view here my presentation at the 12/18/04 Special Meeting on the LHPUSD Board of Trustees, entitled, "LHE Drinking Water Project"

In it I discuss the reasons I called the meeting, give background on the water project, and so forth.

From April 2004:

You can view here:

  • a "Note On Estimating Potential Losses To A School District Resulting From A Charitable Donation To An "Open Space". This arose in response to a 4/16/04 thread on the "La Honda" news group.
  • the Agreement with MROSD we signed on Thursday, March 4th. It lays out a system of "Tax Compensatory Fees" designed to mitigate impacts of MROSD's activities within our School District. (Here--to facilitate re-use of the material--is the "computer" text, without signatures.)
  • the Resolution we also passed on March 4th, 2004 authorizing the signing of the agreement. (Here is the "computer" text, without signatures.)
  • the Policies we passed on October 23rd, 2003 that are referred to in the resolution above. I feel they were an essential part of our overall approach. (They were certainly the most controversial. Understandably, not everybody could see where we were going at that point.)

The MROSD Board of Directors approved it on March 8th, the day before the LAFCO annexation hearing on March 9th. Here is the MROSD staff memo presenting the Agreement.

From December 2003:

You can view here the 10-page11/30/03 Letter to LAFCO I wrote on behalf of the School Board concerning the proposed MROSD annexation. (We don't take a position either for or against, but ask for more time for research and decision).

From October 2003:

You can see here the Initial Report of the Interim Subcommittee formed by the LHPUSD School Board to investigate the proposed annexation by the Mid-Peninsula Open Space District of a region including all lands within the school district.

It's a little out of date now. It was written in June. Since then there have been three key developments.

1. The MROSD, also in June--perhaps on the same night this report was submitted--passed a resolution indicating its intention not to accepts any property tax funds that otherwise would go to the school district. This seems to be a very positive outcome. We are looking forward to a formal comment from the Assessor's office as to whether this resolution will have the impact it seems to.

 

2. Representatives from the MROSD and the LHPUSD finally managed to get together for a face-to-face discussion of some of the potential financial impacts of the proposed annexation (and also continued acquisition by tax-exempt groups of land with the LHPUSD). It was a positive, level-headed, constructive talk by responsible folks seeking common ground and a forward-looking solution. We will meet again soon. The next meeting is intended to include representatives of the Assessor's and Controller's offices.

 

3. The LHPUSD Board of Trustees passed a resolution at the October meeting establishing two new policies with regard to potential annexations and acquisitions. These are general policies, not relating specifically to either the MROSD or even "open space" activities in general. I'll post that resolution here when the electronic text of the final version is available to me.