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Parcel Tax Elections Prove To Be A Mixed Bag The November 3 election was a pretty mixed bag for California school districts that went to voters asking for financial support in the form of a local parcel tax supporting education. Parcel tax ballot measures ran up big majorities in some communities, but fell short of a simple majority (much less a two-thirds majority) in others. In general, proposed parcel taxes did well in small districts (with fewer than 10,000 students) and failed in larger districts – and in Tuesday’s results, it appeared that the bigger the district, the poorer the proposed parcel tax did at the polls. The parcel taxes that were approved by voters on Tuesday were small districts located in affluent areas, with a majority of White (non-Hispanic) students. The results were closely watched in some quarters, since several school districts in California are mulling over the possibility of proposing a voter-approved parcel tax as a means of offsetting budget cuts from Sacramento. The parcel tax measures Here’s a quick rundown: ->Long Beach voters rejected Measure T, which would have raised $92 a year per parcel for five years. The margin was 43 percent “yes,” and 57 percent “no.” The Long Beach Unified School District has about 87,000 students, with just over half of enrollment (51 percent) coming from a Hispanic/Latino background. ->The Fremont Union High School district likewise missed the threshold for passage on Measure G, a renewal of an existing $98 per year parcel tax, which got a 59 percent “yes” vote – several points shy of a two-thirds majority. The Fremont district has about 32,000 students, with students from an Asian background forming the largest demographic group by ethnicity (48 percent of enrollment). ->Oxnard voters rebuffed Measure E, which would have raised $99 a year per parcel for four years for the Oxnard School District. The vote was 47 percent “yes,” and 53 percent “no.” The Oxnard district has about 15,000 students, with a predominantly Hispanic/Latino enrollment. ->The Santa Clara Unified School District came up just short of the required two-thirds majority for Measure C, which would have authorized an annual $138 parcel tax to fund education programs. The “yes” vote came to 62.6 percent – not high enough to pass the measure. The Santa Clara district has about 14,000 students, with enrollment fairly evenly split between Hispanic/Latino, White and Asian background students. ->The Acalanes Union High School District (in an affluent portion of Contra Costa County) rolled to a 74 percent “yes” vote for Measure G, renewing an existing $189 annual parcel tax that would have expired in June 2011. The newly approved version of the parcel tax in Acalanes has no expiration date. The Acalanes district has about 5,700 students, about 70 percent White (not of Hispanic origin). ->Suburban Walnut Creek voters (in Contra Costa County) approved Measure H (for the Walnut Creek School District) by a 75 percent “yes” vote. The measure creates an $82 annual parcel tax with no expiration date, replacing an existing $82 annual parcel tax that expires in June 2011. The Walnut Creek district has about 3,200 students, enrollment is about 65 percent White. ->In affluent Marin County, Larkspur voters approved Measure B, which extends an existing $368.88 annual parcel tax for homeowners. Elsewhere in Marin, voters passed Measure A in the Lagunitas School District, which assesses $325 per parcel annually. The measures passed with a 69 majority in the Larkspur district (which has about 1,200 students) and a 68 percent majority in the tiny Lagunitas district. Both districts are largely White. Editor's Note: Jeff Hudson is the editor of EdBrief and an award-winning education reporter and writer in print, radio and television media. |
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