Dear City Council Members,
As a parent and taxpayer in the Menlo Park City School District, I am writing to express my support for Councilmember Mueller’s
suggestion that the city give $1 million of its ERAF surplus to MPCSD as mitigation for the cost - estimated at $663,000 annually
- of the increased school enrollment expected from the Stanford housing development. As a community funded district, MPCSD does
not receive any additional revenue when it receives additional students; the district’s primary source of funding is property
taxes, and Stanford is exempt from property taxes as a non-profit institution. We feel that if the City has a way to help mitigate
the gap in funding between what residential units built by a tax-paying developer would generate for the school district, and the
one-time donation that Stanford made as a gesture towards filling that gap, the City should not let this opportunity pass. With a
$1 million gift, put into endowment along with Stanford’s gift of $1.5 million, the school district will be on track to annually
generate 60% of the cost of educating the Stanford development’s students, bringing it on par with what typical housing
developments generate.
Please consider giving MPCSD a $1 million gift so that when the new students arrive, as they surely will, the district will be
equipped with the resources to educate them. We all appreciate the value that an excellent school district adds to our vibrant
community, and with your foresight and help, we can maintain the quality that we all expect.
Sincerely,
Marianne and Paul Badawiparents of Ella and Grace Badawi at Encinal Elementary School
