Voters May See School Parcel Tax on May Ballot

The will spend $22,500 to poll voters about their willingness to pass a property tax hike to support the city's budget-strapped public schools.

The vote came at the board's Tuesday night meeting and was unanimous.

Board members did not decide how big a tax hike to seek.

But a staff presentation offered possibilities that would cost property owners $48 to $124 per single family or multi-family residence. Those would be flat fees regardless of home value or number of apartment units.

The board could also consider possible commercial tax hikes from half-a-cent per square foot to 1.5 cents per square foot.

At the low end the district could raise $1.14 million. At the high end it could net $3.13 million.

An attached PDF shows the gradations in between these highs and lows. District officials emphasize that these are preliminary figures.

But if the poll of voters suggests that a tax hike could get the required two-thirds margin, the board would probably opt for a mail-in vote in May.

The reasons are partly fiscal, partly political.

On the fiscal side, Superintendent Cindy Cathey said San Leandro will probably lose another $2.2 million before the end of this academic year because lower-than-expected state revenues are expected to trigger automatic cuts.

The district would therefore want to raise money in school year, and to do so a parcel tax would have to pass by June, Cathey said.

On the political side, the district's polling consultant, Brad Senden, said recent experience in other communities suggests that property tax measures stand the best chance of passing during mail-in voting in May.

School board member Diana Prola also noted that President Obama is running unopposed in the June primary, while there is likely to be a feisty contest on the Republican side.

In her opinion, this could depress Democratic turnout and boost the Republican showing, to the district's disadvantage.

In another bit of political calculus, board discussions suggest that any parcel tax proposal should include a clause to give senior citizens a way to opt out.

Although the board technically made no decisions beyond authorizing the poll, members seem committed to making an attempt.

Board members Mike Katz-Lacabe, Diana Prola and Hermy Almonte agreed to begin rounding up volunteers to raise money and to campaign for the measure.

Student board member Jack Martin said he could probably enlist a couple of hundred students to take part in a grassroots campaign.

In a , school district officials said total funding for the city's 12 public schools fell from $73 million in the 2007/2008 school year to $69 million in the current academic year.

If the state makes the mid-year budget cuts as administrators fear, current year funding would fall to $66.8 million.

Superintendent Cathey told the board Tuesday night that, according to the most recent state Department of Education data, San Leandro already has the lowest per-pupil funding total of any of the 18 school districts in Alameda County.

If the board decides to pursue a tax, it will have to act quickly.

Cathey said there is a Feb. 8 deadline to file for the May mail-in election, which would cost the district between $147,000 and $180,000.

To see the entire staff presentation, follow this link and click on "Parcel Tax Exploration Presentation" to open up a PDF.