For the record, Measure A officially passed by 58 votes out of more than 10,000 cast. But while that may seem like a slim margin, keep in mind that the 58 votes were above and beyond the required two-thirds, or nearly 67% who voted in favor of assessing a property tax of about $228 per parcel of land owned in Arcadia for the next five years to go directly to the Arcadia schools to provide about $3.4 million of the projected $7 mil. budget shortfall.
By comparison, President George W. Bush never even got 51% of the total vote in either Presidential election he won. In 2004 he had less than 48% of the vote and yet was still elected President. So, nearly 66.87% would be considered a landslide and a mandate in most other elections.
“The Arcadia community continues to value and support its school district,” said Dr. Joel Shawn, superintendent of the school district. “We are very grateful and look forward to our continued excellence in the service of the students of this fine community.”
The final tally certified by the County, according to the Arcadia School District, was:
Yes: 6,700
No: 3,265
At total of 10020 ballots were cast.
“Obviously the Arcadia Board of Education and I are extremely happy with the official results of Measure A passing,” Shawn said. “We know that this important achievement could not have happened without thousands of hours of volunteer time put in by our teachers, staff, administrators, students and community members. We are especially indebted to Steve Phillipi and Diane Lucas, who served as co chairs of the Measure A Campaign Committee.”
— By Scott Hettrick