School Board Forms Citizens Group to Prep a 2010 Emergency Tax Measure

• District Expects to Face $12 Million or Greater Shortfall

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

With no end in sight for the state of California’s financial crisis, and a growing district deficit that is already leading to community concern and criticism, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District hopes to convince property owners to help cover the cost of the district’s $12 million shortfall.
At it’s July 16 meeting, the board of education is expected to authorize the formation of a citizens committee to examine the feasibility of an “emergency” parcel tax to “offset all or a portion of the budget deficit due to the state budget crisis,” the meeting agenda states.
According to district staff, the committee, comprised of no more than 25 members, would work with a polling firm to develop “questions for community input,” as well as meet with the district’s chief financial officer Jan Maez to outline the necessary steps “to place a parcel tax on a future ballot or special election and retain the necessary counsel for each step of the process.” The committee is also expected to determine the size and duration of the proposed tax.
The feasibility report would be made by December 10, 2009, in anticipation of placing the measure on the ballot in 2010, for either the state primary ballot in June or a local special election. The staff report indicates that the committee would be authorized to expend up to $50,000 “to poll the electorate regarding parcel tax feasibility.”
District officials are expressing confidence that the new measure will pass, despite warnings from observers who are already predicting a tough sell for the proposed measure which would require a two-thirds vote to pass.
District voters have a history of endorsing school funding. In February 2008, Santa Monica and Malibu voters overwhelmingly approved Measure R, which removed a sundown clause from an existing annual parcel tax of $346, allowing the tax to become permanent. The only district school funding measure to fail in recent years was in 1993, during another period of economic hardship.
The economic crisis has already forced the board of education to make some unpopular and difficult decisions, including cutting $700,000 in funding from special education; eliminating one of Santa Monica High School’s six houses; and increase class size at schools throughout the district.
Maez warned at a recent board of education meeting that there were no longer any “sacred cows,” and that the district is facing deeper cuts if the financial situation continues to deteriorate. Santa Monica parents have been calling for Malibu’s schools to shoulder more of the cutback burdens, with some demanding the closure of one of Malibu’s three elementary schools.
A small but vocal number of critics are also increasingly questioning district spending policies. Some are looking at Measure BB-funded building plans and calling for rethinking and scaling back the massive building and reconstruction juggernaut in light of shrinking attendance and the growing deficit.
Measure BB, passed by a 56.5 percent majority in 2006, approved $268 million in general obligation bonds that can only be used for repairs, safety improvements and construction, not for teachers, salaries or supplies.
Others want assurances that the families of permit students—the district has a policy of accepting the children of alumni as well as students whose parents work in the cities of Malibu or Santa Monica—will also contribute to the proposed parcel tax, and demand that the district reveal exactly what it is willing to cut before imposing additional property taxes on cash-strapped residents.
Provided the board votes to proceed with the committee formation, a press release is expected to be distributed on July 17, announcing that the application forms for the committee are available.
Completed applications are due to the superintendent’s office no later than Aug. 7. A subcommittee of the board of education will review the applications and recommend a list of committee members for board approval at the Aug. 20 meeting, according to district staff.