The James Logan Courier

By Kevin Harper, President, Board of Education
New Haven Unified School District

Tuesday is Election Day, and even though our presidential primary was in March and there is only one state issue on the state ballot, it’s an important election for Union City residents. Measure K, an extension of the public safety parcel tax, is on ballot.

Legally, I can’t ask you to vote for Measure K. But I can point out that even though it is a city measure, its passage would help the New Haven Unified School District in several ways:

● It would provide $1 million for the Union City Police Department to hire five new officers, including School Resource Officers for our middle schools.


● It would fund the Gang Reduction through Education and Training (GREAT) program in our schools.

● It would provide $500,000 for the kind of Youth Violence Prevention and Intervention programs advocated by the Youth Violence Prevention Coalition.

I also can point out that if Measure K fails, the city will have to cut police and fire services by $2.6 million, which could mean we will lose two of our three current School Resource Officers. I can even point out that per-capita tax collections in Union City are the lowest in Alameda County.

It is a privilege and pleasure to be part of this community. Thanks for the opportunity to share in the education of our children.