From San Mateo Daily News
School district board approves tax proposal
By Neil Gonzales
Voters in the San Bruno Park School District will likely see a parcel tax measure on the November ballot.
This week, the district board narrowly approved pursuing a measure to generate additional revenue for San Bruno Park schools, which are facing a potential $1.4 million budget shortfall in the 2008-2009 academic year.
The board voted 3-2 to have staff determine the amount and other specifics of a proposed tax. The details are expected next month in a report to the board.
Trustees Russ Hanley, Kevin Martinez and Jennifer Blanco supported placing a measure before voters while their colleagues William "Skip" Henderson Jr. and James Prescott opposed it.
"My philosophy is let the people decide whether to give it to us or not," Hanley said.
But given the district's fiscal uncertainties, Hanley said, a parcel tax "is the only recourse left."
The district does have $30 million from last year's sale of the old Carl Sandburg School property, he noted, but the state "won't let us use it" for general purposes.
The Sandburg funds are earmarked for building improvement projects.
Henderson said a parcel tax measure has little chance to succeed in today's sluggish economy, in which people are watching their wallets closely.
The November 2007 defeat of the city of San Bruno's proposed sales tax increase is another indication that the district's ballot proposal is not a good idea at this point, Henderson said.
"I don't particularly like parcel taxes," he added, "but they are available" as another revenue source.
A parcel tax measure requires two-thirds approval. This would be the district's first try at a parcel tax. But district voters have passed bond measures before.
In 1996, voters passed a $600,000 bond for seismic improvements. Two years later, they approved a $30 million bond for campus upgrades.
Two other local districts already have parcel tax measures on the June ballot.
Measure P is the Millbrae School District's proposal to levy an annual tax of $78 for five years to bring back instructional aides and other employee positions, protect teachers from layoffs and maintain programs.
The Pacifica School District's Measure N is a $96 tax for five years to preserve small class sizes, fund programs and maintain buildings. |
