Friday, May 30, 2008

Schools seek parcel tax, bond measures

Only two school districts in Alameda and Contra Costa counties will be asking voters to approve parcel taxes for educational programs Tuesday, but there may be many more such ballot measures.

Two other school districts on Tuesday will ask voters to approve bond measures to pay for school facilities improvements.

"In this year there are more going out for parcel taxes," said Dublin school board President Denis King.

The district will soon see results of a survey gauging support for a parcel tax measure. He said the state budget deficit, and its effect on schools, shows why a stable, locally controlled school funding source is needed.

"I think the way the state's budget is working out, districts need to look at all the ways we have to raise money," King said.

While the Dublin district and many others are looking at a November or later election, the San Ramon Valley and Alameda school districts have parcel tax measures on Tuesday's ballot. If voters approve, that money would be available for the 2008-09 school year.

San Ramon Valley school district leaders are asking voters to approve Measure D, which would extend at a higher amount its $90 per parcel property tax. It otherwise would expire June 30, 2009. It needs two-thirds approval to pass.

It would take effect July 1 and last seven years, with its first year replacing the final year of the current tax. Property owners would be charged $166 a year in the first Advertisementyear, with increases up to $8 a year for inflation. Seniors 65 and over can obtain exemptions for residences in which they live.

The district says the money raised, $7.76 million in its first year, would continue services funded in the current tax, like the district's share of the state's class-size reduction program which caps kindergarten through third-grade classes at 20 students and reduces ninth-grade English and math class sizes. It would also continue paying for middle and high school libraries, middle and high school counselors and fifth-grade music.

The measure would also provide money to add to the district's math and science programs. District officials say without the money those programs would stop.

In Alameda, the school district has a parcel tax measure in response to state cuts.

Measure H would charge $120 per residential parcel and 15 cents per square foot on commercial property each year for four years starting July 1. It needs two-thirds approval to pass, with a senior exemption. The tax would be in addition to the current parcel tax, which expires in 2012. That tax is $189 per residential parcel, and also has a charge for businesses based on square footage.

Such measures have their MoreElection 2008: News, updates, endorsements and informationBlog: Inside Politics with Lisa VorderbrueggenBlog: Political Blotter with Josh Richmanopponents.

Mike Arata, a Danville resident leading the opposition to the San Ramon Valley measure, said districts do not tell voters that spending has risen faster than inflation, partly due to employee raises. He said tax supporters often put popular items on the list of services to be funded to pass a tax, which then frees up money for reasons that don't resonate with voters.

"Those are all things people want to see," he said. "It's invariably an emotional argument to pull at parent and taxpayer heart-strings."

Other school districts considering parcel tax measures for the November presidential election or later include Pleasanton, Livermore, Martinez, San Leandro, Mt. Diablo and West Contra Costa.

The two districts seeking bond approval Tuesday want to improve their facilities.

The Antioch school district hopes to update older campuses with Measure C, which would raise $61.6 million to refurbish the 14 oldest schools. It needs 55 percent approval to pass. It would be paid over 30 years by assessing homeowners who do not already pay Mello-Roos fees for schools in the newer subdivisions in the district. The estimated cost would be about $28 annually per $100,000 assessed value. School officials estimate it would affect 16,369 of the roughly 28,000 homes in the district.

The Hayward school district seeks large-scale improvement of its schools with Measure I, a $205 million school bond. The money would help pay for rebuilding Fairview and Schafer Park elementary schools. It would also pay for modernizing East Avenue and Tyrrell elementary schools and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.

Districtwide, there would be safety work such as surveillance cameras and upgraded disabled access at all schools.

It would cost homeowners $59 a year per $100,000 of assessed value for 20 years. The district wants to get all its facilities updated by 2020. If Measure I passes, it would set off a plan to achieve that, which includes three more bond measures of about the same amount to raise a total of about $800 million.

The San Lorenzo and New Haven districts also are considering bond measures.



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