Schools to Try Again for Parcel Tax : Education: The last attempt to levy a $250 assessment was defeated by just 20 votes. Voters will also fill 2 seats on the board.

Voters in La Canada Flintridge will be asked Nov. 5 to reconsider a $250-per-parcel school tax, which was defeated by just 20 votes in June.

If approved, the measure would raise $1.25 million annually for La Canada schools for four years. District officials said the money would enable them to reduce class sizes and restore programs in arts, science, language, honors and athletics that have been cut because of recent shortfalls in state education funding.

On the same ballot, voters will select two school board members from a field of three candidates: two-term incumbent Carole Siegler, parent activist Meredith Reynolds and Los Angeles schoolteacher Ned Corpolongo.

The parcel tax proposal is nearly identical to the measure that fell just 20 votes short of the two-thirds margin of approval needed for passage in the June election. Supporters made minor wording changes to clarify that the measure exempts the elderly.

The defeated measure stated that La Canada residents over the age of 65 “may be” exempted from the tax after filling out an application and proving their age. This time, the measure states that seniors “shall be” exempted once they apply and provide proof of their age.

“ ‘May be’ was seen to mean by some to mean, ‘We might grant it, we might not,’ ” said Jeanne Broberg, co-chairwoman for the Committee for Quality Education--Yes on Proposition M. “It was misconstrued.”

The La Canada Unified School District has sent letters to residents, informing them that they can apply for the exemptions now at the district offices, said Assistant Supt. Andrew Meyer.

Tax supporters also said voters may be more inclined to vote for the measure now that they have seen the impact of the budget cutbacks on the schools.

Because of budget shortfalls, many advanced placement classes at La Canada High School have been eliminated. Students preparing for the tests must attend special seminars after school. Advanced French students are shuttling to a class at Muir High School in Pasadena.

In the high school, the average class size has risen from 32 students to 34, and in the elementary schools, from 29 students to 32.

With the parcel tax, average elementary school class size would be reduced to 26, and in high school, many classes would be restored, Meyer said. However, the tax would not be collected until 1992 and would not affect this school year’s budget.

No groups have openly opposed the parcel tax, but supporters of the measure said that anonymous flyers urging a “no” vote have been left in the community.

All three school board candidates have expressed strong support for the parcel tax measure and, in a low-key campaign, have stressed their school affiliations and expertise as qualifications.

Siegler, 49, has been a school board member since 1983. Prior to her election, Siegler was an active member of the local PTA and a member of school site councils. Her three sons graduated from La Canada High School, and she is a member of the Assistance League of Flintridge.

Siegler, who taught school for four years in the 1960s and has a bachelor’s degree in education from Drake University, is an ardent supporter of the parcel tax.

“If we want lower class sizes in La Canada, it will have to come from local support,” she said.

Reynolds, 37, practiced law until the birth of her first son 10 years ago and has been involved with the schools since 1984. She has served as president of the La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation and vice president of the PTA. She is also involved in the district’s Junior Great Books program.

Reynolds is serving her second term on the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, which jointly manages school athletic fields with the school board.

Reynolds was co-chairwoman of the Committee for Quality Education, which led the campaign for the school parcel tax last June. She said she also wants to lobby state officials to increase educational funding. She said she feels she has a personal stake in the issue because her three children are still very young.

“We can never stop trying to convince Sacramento to make education a higher priority,” she said.

Corpolongo, 59, has been an administrator and teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District for 35 years. A sixth-grade teacher at Fenton Avenue Elementary School in Lake View Terrace, Corpolongo said he intends to retire soon and wants to share his expertise with the La Canada district, where his two sons have gone to school.

Corpolongo has a master’s degree in school administration and supervision from Pepperdine University. He supports the parcel tax, but said that if elected, he would take a close look at the administrative budget to see where cutbacks could be made to eliminate the need for such taxes in the future.

“We have to cut the fat out of the budget so we don’t have to look forward to another parcel tax,” he said.