School Board to Consider Placing Parcel Tax on Upcoming Ballot

The Board of Education has agreed to meet later in the summer to consider placing a parcel tax on a future ballot following a presentation of survey results on Tuesday that showed there was nearly enough voter support to pass such an annual levy.

Sixty-six percent of 500 phone survey respondents living within the district's borders said they would support an annual $114 parcel tax for seven years to fund local schools in upcoming academic years. Twenty-eight percent said they were not in favor, while six percent did not know how they would respond.

In order to win voter approval, the state mandates that parcel taxes must garner a 66 and two-thirds percent majority in favor of the ballot item.

Jared Boigan, a strategic advisor with Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, which conducted the local poll, told the school board that the L.A. County election in November would be a "good opportunity" for the school district, especially if they want the tax to go into effect by the 2012-13 school year.

"Think very seriously about the opportunity in front of you this November," he said.

The firm conducted a similar survey last year and found that 66 percent of likely voters polled favored a $114 tax. The board took no action at that time.

"We're pretty confident that's where your electorate is at this time," said Paul Goodwin, who runs the firm's Los Angeles office.

This year's survey, conducted between June 4 and 8, found that 61 percent of respondents would support a $198-a-year parcel tax.

Thirty-five percent of people surveyed were parents of minors, while 88 percent were homeowners, according to the presentation.

Maintaining adequate teacher staffing levels was among the top reasons why people said they would vote in favor of a parcel tax, according to the presentation.

Twenty-two percent of respondents said they wanted to "protect the great teachers and strong academics that make our local schools so outstanding," while 27 percent reportedly liked the idea of a parcel tax because it's money that "Sacramento cannot touch."

Eighty-eight percent of respondents said great schools is one of the reasons they moved to the area, while 77 percent stated that passing such a measure would help "preserve property values."

The district already has a $98-a-year parcel tax in place, approved by voters in 2004 and later renewed to last through 2015, which annually raises $2.3 million, said Chief Business Official Karen Kimmel.

School officials anticipate a $2.2 million shortfall for the 2012-13 academic year and are considering a parcel tax as one of its fundraising options.

Kimmel later added that it would cost about $15,000 to $20,000 to place a parcel tax item on the November L.A. County ballot versus $220,000 the district would have to spend on its own special election.

Supt. Donald Zimring said that fundraising would have to be conducted for campaigning, which cannot be paid for by district dollars.

Zimring added that the board could vote on the language that would appear on the November ballot at a July 26 meeting or earlier.

District officials have until the end of July to submit their request to place an item on the November ballot, Boigan said.