Since the November election of four trustees and the promotion
of last year’s board vice president Peter Mandel to board
president, the words
”
parcel tax
”
have slipped past nearly all board trustees’ lips. However, at
this point it’s just an idea circulating to keep local taxpayer
money in its community’s schools.
Since the November election of four trustees and the promotion of last year’s board vice president Peter Mandel to board president, the words “parcel tax” have slipped past nearly all board trustees’ lips. However, at this point it’s just an idea circulating to keep local taxpayer money in its community’s schools.
“I’d say that the need for additional revenue is more critical now. Because of the obvious budget crisis we’ve had to take more drastic steps including layoffs, increasing class sizes, eliminating summer school. It’s the responsibility of the board to at least consider posing the question to the community. The community might say no, or it might be a yes,” Mandel said. One of his goals this year is to explore a parcel tax with a special board session dedicated to the possibility of putting it on a ballot.
In June, California voters will decide to extend current sales and vehicle license taxes for five more years to skirt cutting K-12 public education according to Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal he unveiled two weeks ago. If the tax extension isn’t approved by voters and also two-thirds of the Legislature, public schools will lose $2 billion or approximately $330 per student, according to the Association of California School Administrators.
The ripple effect at MHUSD would mean a tripling of their real and perceived budget deficit. Currently the shortfall is about $1 million, but if Brown’s plan fails it will climb to almost $3 million, according to Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini.
The reality of cutting millions – again (last year the district avoided layoffs thanks to an early retirement incentive) – is cause for exploring a parcel tax or annual tax to property owners who live within the school district boundaries. Before the tax goes to voters for the needed two-thirds approval, it must be designated to fund a specific program or use.
Tognazzini said MHUSD cannot fund special elections for parcel taxes and the tens of thousands of dollars that it would cost would have to come from the community through fundraising. Also, the board would have to approve several resolutions detailing how the money would be spent, convene a committee and rally voters to approve the tax.
At the Sunnyvale School District, its board voted Jan. 20 to place a seven-year $59 annual parcel tax on a mail-only May ballot. If passed, the tax will generate about $1 million for Sunnyvale’s district and exempts seniors older than 65 and disabled persons.
A parcel tax election in an odd-numbered year can only occur in March, June or November. A mail-only ballot is valid if sent out in May or August.
Trustee Claudia Rossi recently attended a fundraiser in Sunnyvale where her sister is a principal to support her and learn more about their efforts. Right now, Rossi is in research mode.
“I want to know, how does this work? How much do (consultants) charge?” Rossi said. “The buy-in is how does it benefit the larger community. ‘Here if you get it, how will you use it?’ How do we make sure it’s not wasted?”
Rossi said she plans to call the consultant who is working with Sunnyvale School District to learn more.
“The possibility is something that is exciting for me. I will do as much research as possible, but it really has to begin in my view in the community,” Rossi said, adding that the retired community is just as important in this process and their support will be necessary if the board decides to back a tax.
Trustee Don Moody said he supports a parcel tax and also exempting senior citizens if it were proposed, but like the other trustees, wants to know more about the process.
“I’m not sure how receptive the public would be right now. I do believe that there are programs that we will have to cut. And we can keep them in place if we have a parcel tax,” Moody said. Details of what trustees believe the money should be used for are scarce. They say the community should have a hand in deciding first, if a parcel tax is a viable option and second, what they value most and want to retain or improve at MHUSD.
Trustee Ron Woolf, who is also a retired MHUSD teacher, is cautious about saying, “Let’s go for it.”
“I think we don’t need to jump into it until we see the budget committee and what they’re recommending we do and what the shortfall actually looks like,” Woolf said.
The district will convene a budget committee before it’s presented to the board of trustees for several reviews before being passed this spring. Because local districts must pass their budgets before California voters decide at the polls in June on Brown’s tax extensions, deficits are padded to prep for the worst-case scenario.
Woolf said the district should hire a firm to poll the community if passing a parcel tax is possible; “We have to list it – black and white – everyone needs to know, everyone needs to be educated on it. Everyone needs to be involved: unions, parents, senior citizens, the entire community.”
The pulse of the community is vital, Woolf said; “If we’re going to do this we got to do a 100 percent effort. We know that better schools make better communities.”
In 2006, Morgan Hill voters said no to a $96 annual school parcel tax to fund technology, fine arts and athletic programs at MHUSD. The initiative found 55 percent approval and 45 percent voted it down. Approval by two-thirds of a city, county or school district electorate is necessary for adoption, according to the California Constitution.
A bond to fund the construction of Barrett Elementary and Sobrato High School was passed by voters after three tries in July 1999.
Former trustee Julia Hover-Smoot advocated a parcel tax throughout her stint on the board though it never gleaned much effort other than brief discussions following the failed attempt in 2006.
At a Dec. 14 school board meeting where Hover-Smoot was recognized for her service before she left to take a position on the Santa Clara County School Board, she advocated for a MHUSD parcel tax once more.
“I really regret not getting a parcel tax passed while I was on the board,” Hover-Smoot said. “I know ‘tax’ is a very, very dirty word, but a tiny parcel tax in this town would allow us to protect the art and music and bring it back to our students.”
She said at $50 per parcel of land per year, could be enough to keep the school district from cutting any more art classes. Last year the school district axed several applied arts classes, such as fashion design and woodshop, at the high schools to instead fit more core subject courses, such as math, science, English and remedial classes.
“I know that it’s not a popular thing. A tiny parcel tax could go a long way. It would stay local, only being used in our schools. We wouldn’t have to share it with the state or the Feds. We can use it to enrich the children’s’ lives,” Hover-Smoot said.
