Comments of the Week: School Options, Travel

Locals continue to discuss proposed options for sustaining Hermosa Beach schools, and a Patch columnist congratulates the 53rd Assembly District Woman of the Year.

Here are some of the reader comments Hermosa Beach Patch received this week.

School Suggestions

As the Hermosa Beach School Board continues to research various options to sustain local schools, on the proposed measures in a Patch video Monday.

One Patch reader commented on resident responses and advocated for the School Board to consider a parcel tax.

• The first video suggesting a parcel tax makes sense for the reasons given. Other participants, although well intentioned, suggested: 1. Charter School—It doesn't save money. We don't have complaints about the quality of our schools. It's money we need. 2. Using other revenues/taxes from the city—Schools are not funded by the city, but from the state. 3. Merge with another district (Manhattan Beach appears to be the first choice)—No district has expressed an interest in merging with 
us. If we are "taken over" by the county, you can expect a decline in property values. Will parents looking for a home think twice before buying here now? I think so, given the uncertainty of the schools. It's only a matter of time before that uncertainty translates 
into lower home prices. Senior citizens are exempt. Property owners, not renters, pay the parcel tax—and the owners benefit from higher property values. Parents benefit from the parcel tax—what's the cost of private tuition? Other than a parcel tax, is there an alternative that is financially viable? We haven't heard one. Please continue to donate to the HBEF and PTO. — wrote .

Travel Show

Patch attended the last weekend, and one reader expressed interest in the vacation bargains in a comment Wednesday.

• Wish we could have been there! I'm curious if there were groups talking about frugal travel, volunteering and alternate ways of traveling like couch surfing? — wrote .

Woman of the Year

A Patch columnist commented congratulations to Hermosa Beach Police Department Chaplain Gila Katz on Thursday for from the 53rd Assembly District.

• Congratulations to Gila Katz for this very well deserved honor. Gila and her husband, Julian Katz, are tireless volunteers for a wide variety of community causes and Hermosa Beach—along with the whole South Bay—is in their debt. I consider them great role models for the rest of us and I'm proud to know them both! — wrote .

Coming up: Check Patch on Sundays for our weekly roundup of the latest Hermosa Beach headlines in the Week in Review.