Confronted by budget shortfalls in the millions, the school district hits the streets to drum support for a possible $300 property parcel tax.
By Carolanne Sudderth/Ocean Park Gazette
In the face of huge budget deficits for the current and subsequent fiscal years, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is looking to place a parcel tax of its own on the ballot this November to raise much needed cash. The district is confronted with a deficit of $2.8 million for fiscal year 2001-2002, $4.5 million for the following fiscal year, and even bleaker, a predicted deficit of $5.7 million for fiscal year 2003-2004.
Superintendent John Deasy recommended to the school board that $1.6 million be taken out of the budget immediately and a hiring freeze be implemented in order to deal with the shortfalls.
According to a survey conducted by the school district, the votes are there with almost 60 percent of respondents saying they would vote for an additional $300 per annum to support local schools, just short of the two-thirds vote the measure needs for passage.
Never one to go into anything unprepared, the SM-MUSD board commissioned Fairbank, Maslin and Maullin to poll a representative sample of Santa Monica and Malibu residents about the likelihood of their voting for such a measure.
The survey was conducted only among those who said they were definitely (83 percent) or likely (17 percent) to vote in the forthcoming election.
The survey began with a warm-up question. After being asked how they would vote on a “$13 billion, 50 million dollar bond issue” to relieve overcrowding and repair older schools and a “$3 billion, 440 million dollar bond issue” to fund water-use efficiency and purchase and restore coastal wetlands, participants were asked the key questions:
“To reduce class size, attract outstanding teachers, improve the quality of instruction, upgrade computer technology for classrooms and school libraries, and assure a safe learning environment through increased maintenance and security of school buildings, shall the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District be authorized to levy a special tax limited to $200/$300 per parcel adjusted annually for inflation, with citizens’ oversight and annual performance and financial audits?”
Here, the sample was divided into two. An undisclosed percentage was asked how they felt about a $200 parcel tax, and the other group about a $300 tax. Numbers varied little between the two, with a total of 57 percent voting yes for the $300 measure (35 percent definitely, 22 percent probably) and 58 percent for the $200 (38 percent definitely, 20 percent probably.)
Of those polled, 34 percent said they did not know whether Santa Monica/Malibu residents were currently subject to a parcel tax or not. Almost equal to the 35 percent were those who know for a fact they are.
Interestingly, 8 percent were positive there is currently no parcel tax at all. They are wrong.
In fact, residents of both cities are footing several parcel taxes. Prop. Y, passed in year 2000, levied a flat $98 tax per parcel. In March, voters approved SMC’s Measure U, to fund improvement at the SMC College campus, which levies $25 per $100,000 property value. The new measure would add an additional amount to the previous parcel taxes, and of course, those collected by the county and the state.
A surprising 33 percent said they would be more likely to vote for the measure if it were permanent rather than sunset-ing in 12 years.
Of those taking part, 82 percent lived in Santa Monica, and 18 percent were Malibu-based. Two-thirds possessed a bachelor’s degree or better. Sixty-seven percent had no children under 18. One item not disclosed was the ratio of homeowners to renters.
Fifty-seven percent of those polled said they were unaware of the $2.8 million shortfall facing the district this year. Of the total, 62 percent of those polled lay it in the school board’s lap. (Poor oversight-24 percent, Mismanagement by the district’s administration-38 percent.)
Participants were asked how opponents’ rhetoric would affect their vote, specifically, “This measure is just an attempt by school district bureaucrats to gold plate everything with unnecessary frills as well as make up for their mismanagement of the parcel tax we are already paying.”
With this argument, the percentage in favor dropped to 51 percent (Definitely-30 percent, Probably-21percent).
At the previous school board meeting, President Julia Brownley had said she was not comfortable choosing an amount with only five of the seven board members present. That decision will be made at the board’s June 27 meeting.