As L.A. Voters Go to the Polls on $500M Annual Parcel Tax, Lessons Learned From Two Other California School Districts That Approved Theirs Years Ago
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If L.A. Unified’s proposed $500 million annual parcel tax passes Tuesday, it would be uncharted territory for the country’s second-largest school district.
L.A. Unified has never had a parcel tax. They aren’t commonplace, with about 9 percent of school districts in the state 鈥� most clustered in the Bay Area 鈥� successfully passing or renewing parcel taxes聽. Parcel taxes are unique to California, and can serve as a fallback for cash-strapped districts that aren’t getting enough funding from the state.
The proposed tax, known as聽, would charge residents within L.A. Unified鈥檚 boundaries 16 cents per square foot of developed property annually. Measure EE is estimated to cost most homeowners between per year, while placing the largest tax burden on businesses and corporations.
Revenue from the tax would help pay for the contract that L.A. Unified agreed to after January’s teacher strike. And while the tax language doesn鈥檛 include relief for crippling employee , new revenue could ease some of the fiscal pressure on the district, which is burdened by deficit spending and faces the threat of a county takeover if it can’t . But the parcel tax’s passage is far from guaranteed. There’s been debate over whether the tax language is clear enough about its promised uses, and opponents are that there will be sufficient accountability over how the money is spent and robust oversight guiding the entire process.
Insight into whether parcel taxes are the revenue cure school districts hope for can be gleaned from two other districts 鈥� Alameda Unified and West Contra Costa Unified 鈥� whose taxes are similar to the one L.A. Unified would levy. In one district, residents say the tax saved essential school programs from being gutted. The other district鈥檚 experience is more mixed, with some residents claiming that mismanagement and minimal oversight have corroded public trust around the tax initiative. Here鈥檚 what happened:
Alameda Unified
Alameda Unified’s 32-cent-per-square-foot parcel tax has been “the best of the worst we could hope鈥� for since it first passed , district parent Sarah Olaes said. It’s staved off cuts to student services, though it doesn’t add extra frills.
The district, which sits on an island in the San Francisco Bay, enrolls about聽 students. Its parcel tax generates about $12 million annually for schools 鈥� of that for local charters 鈥斅爉aking it Alameda Unified鈥檚 second-largest revenue source. It equates to $575 a year on average for residential properties, according to the district.
There is a maximum cap of $7,999 per parcel. It has survived two separate .
The tax wasn’t meant to expand school offerings. Rather, it safeguarded basic line items as the district faced “pretty drastic” cuts after the 2008 recession, district spokeswoman Susan Davis said. High school sports, elementary music classes, some AP courses and five instructional days were on the chopping block. Three elementary schools were . The district was also looking at a possible 32-to-1 student-teacher ratio in grades K-3, Olaes said.
Funding 鈥渋s never enough, but [the tax] stopped these terrible cuts from happening, which would鈥檝e made a huge difference to the quality of [my kids鈥� education],” said Olaes, who has a seventh-grader and a senior in the district and has聽been heavily involved in campaigns聽for the tax.
The extra funds have kept those elementary schools’ doors open and preserved programming, the district confirmed. Class sizes for K-3 do not exceed the maximum 25-to-1 ratio. Sports teams are getting their uniforms and football helmets, balls and nets.
Because educational programs 鈥渁re run by people,鈥� Davis said, 鈥渢he vast majority鈥� of the revenue, about , goes toward paying employee salaries and benefits. That鈥檚 not explicitly clear in the , which lists 11 categories and respective percentage breakdowns for how the money should be allocated.
Paying for salaries is different from raises, though, Alameda Education Association President Judith Klinger said.
“We don’t pass parcel taxes to try and increase salary; it鈥檚 really more just to keep the doors open,鈥� Klinger said, adding, “If you care about public education, you鈥檝e got to pay for it.”
The district refrained from weighing in on how the tax has translated to academic gains, if at all.
Voters the tax in 2016 with a nearly 75 percent approval margin. The tax, currently running from 2018 to 2025, “sailed through,” said Carrie Hahnel, who chairs the parcel tax oversight committee and also works for the advocacy nonprofit 聽Residents 鈥渃an see the direct connection between their investment and the services.”
It isn’t a silver bullet, however. Like other districts, Alameda Unified is struggling to support a growing population of special education students and cover rising pension costs. The district鈥檚 roughly 550 teachers 鈥� who won a this year 鈥� remain among the lowest-paid in Alameda County, with a starting salary of about $52,000. Alameda Unified in 2017-18 also approved more than in budget cuts, including rolling back extended kindergarten hours and inching high school class sizes closer to the 35-to-1 maximum student-teacher ratio.
The district annual staff and oversight committee reports on parcel tax revenue and expenditures. Hahnel described the relationship between the 10-member committee and the district as “very healthy and positive.” But she acknowledged that the committee’s role “is minimal.鈥� Oversight committees like the one in Alameda are not mandated by state law for parcel taxes.
鈥淲e don’t actually perform audits, we have not visited the school sites,” Hahnel said. 鈥�… I can ask a lot of questions, and I can get answers. And [district officials] do feel accountable to provide answers. But they don’t necessarily feel compelled to change what they鈥檙e doing as a result.”
West Contra Costa Unified
West Contra Costa Unified’s parcel tax was harder to review. The district did not follow through on seven interview requests made by LA School Report. A few district residents interviewed, however, said that the funds are mismanaged and that oversight is lackluster.
West Contra Costa Unified, which serves about聽聽in the East Bay area, passed the first iteration of its 7.2-cents-per-square-foot parcel tax in 2004. There have been three approved renewals since, with in effect from July through 2027. The tax generates about a year, with a $108 average tax bill for a 1,500-square-foot property. Since 2016, a growing portion of the revenue 鈥� as of January 鈥� is designated for local charters.
The district became synonymous with financial hardship after becoming school system to be taken over by the state after declaring bankruptcy in 1991 (it resumed control after paying off its debts in 2012). Since then, it continues to combat “declining enrollment, increased contributions to [retiree benefits] and other benefits, and growing special education expenses,” district spokesman Marcus Walton wrote in an email.
The current tax’s is to “improve” the quality of education by protecting core academics, preparing students for college and the workforce and providing smaller class sizes, among other things. That鈥檚 translated to most of the tax revenue 鈥� three-quarters of $9.7 million, for example 鈥� going toward salaries and benefits for employees, such as athletic coaches, librarians and counselors. Teachers last year won a by 2020; Walton wrote that the raises “were not dependent on the parcel tax revenue” but that tax revenue 鈥渢echnically鈥� can go toward the cost.
United Teachers of Richmond President Demetrio Gonzalez, who advocated for the parcel tax鈥檚 renewal in 2016, said the district鈥檚 commitment to funding librarians and counselors is essential. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing in large urban settings like Richmond and L.A. that we鈥檙e in very large need of supportive staff,鈥� he said. Gonzalez added that he does wish 鈥渨e could increase the [tax] amount and put in more to things like the class sizes piece, or community schools鈥� 鈥斅爐wo areas he says the parcel tax isn鈥檛 covering currently.
Parent Erin Moody, whose daughter is a sophomore who transferred to a local charter school, is frustrated that she hasn鈥檛 seen improvements in the classrooms. She described the district as poorly run, repeatedly “coming to the well” for taxpayer money.
“A lot of us are tired of money getting misspent,” Moody said. She added that West Contra Costa Unified has its numerous school construction bonds as well, further eroding trust. But she still voted for the latest parcel tax.
“What do you say? That you don鈥檛 want the children to have the money?鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very upsetting.鈥�
Another point of concern is a seeming lack of oversight. The district鈥檚 now聽聽oversight committee “was on hiatus most of 2017-18 at the request of the Board,” Walton wrote. Prior to that, he added, “the committee was unable to reach a quorum in order to conduct business” 鈥� which helps explain the of annual reports on the school district’s . Walton noted that a report covering 2016-18 is anticipated in June.
The oversight committee’s job is often “frustrating鈥� and “thankless,” said Susan Pricco, a Contra Costa Taxpayers Association board member who said she’s seen the school board ignore correspondence from the oversight committee.
While Gonzalez, the union head, said he agrees that 鈥渨e can do a better job at holding the district accountable,鈥� he added that charters, which don鈥檛 fall under the district鈥檚 purview, “need to be equally transparent.” Oversight committee from November revealed that none of the charters that received parcel tax revenue in 2016 and 2017 submitted audit reports 鈥渨ith the required schedule.鈥� Walton wrote in an email that audits have since been 鈥渃ompleted and submitted鈥� 鈥斅燾onflicting with Gonzalez saying that it鈥檚 an ongoing issue.
There is no 鈥渙ne answer鈥� to making things right, Pricco said. But she was clear on this point: 鈥淲e want to support our students. We want to support our teachers. But don鈥檛 screw around with our tax money.鈥�
That sentiment is almost certainly shared by L.A. Unified taxpayers, who the district鈥檚 earlier attempt to pass a parcel tax in 2010. Whether they have been persuaded in 2019 to see the tax as more of a benefit than a burden will be clear by tomorrow, when two-thirds of voters will have to vote 鈥測es鈥� in order for it to pass.
Polls in L.A. Unified are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. To find your polling location and other voter resources, . For more coverage of L.A.鈥檚 proposed tax, see here:
鈼徛�June鈥檚 Parcel Tax to Fund Schools Takes Center Stage After Jackie Goldberg鈥檚 LAUSD Board Win
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Taylor Swaak is a correspondent at 麻豆精品, focused on the coronavirus pandemic, its impact on student learning, and how the Washington, D.C. region is approaching the many urgent challenges caused by the public health emergency.
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