School Board Seeking Public Comment On Proposed Parcel tax

The Board of Trustees is seeking community input on how to weather a projected $507,000 shortfall next year. As they look further out on the horizon, the waves of debt grow larger. If voters don't pass a potential Board proposed parcel tax in May, the district could be more than $2 million in the red by 2014.

The first community meeting will be held at Bruno's BBQ at 230 Mt. Hermon Rd. on Oct. 20 at 6:30p.m. The Board is hoping to learn what price residents will vote for.

The Board has considered a possible parcel tax ballot measure for nearly a year, which included paying the polling group Godbe Research more than $17,000 to investigate the strength of support for the measure.

Godbe's polling showed that 68 percent of residents would “definitely” or “probably” vote yes for a parcel tax of $96 per piece of real estate for 3-5 years. However, the “definitely” category peaked at 44 percent—far below the majority they were hoping for. In response, the Board shelved the issue in January fearing that if the measure failed it could kill interest in the issue for years to come.

In a study presented to the Board at its meeting on Tuesday night, the district's chief business officer Karen Jelcick said programs that are possible targets of cuts without the parcel tax are math, science, English and keeping school libraries open long enough to serve students.

“This would be to maintain programs,” Superintendent Penny Weaver said. “This would not be enrichment or addition [of programs]. We are talking about surviving over the next five years.”

The Board is pushing for this local solution—which would tax property owners an annual fee for each parcel of land—because cuts at the state level have decimated schools in local communities throughout California.

“The state is not solving our funding crisis so that is up to us,” Weaver said.

Trustee Michael Shulman expressed concerns from having voters defeat the parcel tax initiative, to passing one that is too small to accomplish their goals of raising close to $2 million over three years. At $96 per parcel, the tax would raise $604,224 each year.

Godbe polled people on how they would vote on a parcel tax of different amounts, from $48 up to $96, and found little difference over the price tag. They found support dropped for a proposal that would impose the tax for more than five years though.

Shulman fears that a tax too small to accomplish its stated goals will doom future parcel taxes, but also says that a loss at the ballot on a tax large enough to raise resistance could have the same effect.

“It’s not going to help us get another parcel tax if the current one doesn't do what we said it would do,” he said.

Derek Timm of the citizens' committee studying the proposed tax said that an amount above $100 could doom the whole idea.

The board will vote on Nov. 15 on whether to put the plan on a May mail-in ballot.

“I can't say enough about how conservative we have been over the past five years,” Board President Larry Beaman said. “We have taken care of our school district...on the backs of our teachers and our students...but we have maintained.”

The Scotts Valley Unified School District will hold two community meetings to hear public input on the proposed parcel tax. The first meeting is on Oct. 20, 6:30-8 p.m., at , 245 Mt. Hermon Road. The second meeting is on Nov. 3, 6:30-8 p.m., at the , 360 Kings Village Dr. For more information, call 831-438-1820.