School board did the safest thing School board did the safest thing (December 05, 2003)

To the surprise of no one, the Mountain View-Whisman school district board has decided to proceed with a new parcel tax measure. With the failure of a similar measure in June that would have cost homeowners and businesses 5-cents-per-square-foot, it appears that the board members have learned from the recent past.

Instead of designing a tax that would bring in $2.5 million, the district is asking Mountain View property owners for $1.6 million, even though officials say it actually needs $3 million to reinstate earlier cuts and to provide additional needed services.

Sadly, it's only about half of what is needed but there was little choice.

Parents are understandably disappointed that the board was cowed by the threats of the Tri-County Apartment Association, a landlord advocacy group that helped bankroll the campaign against the parcel tax in June. A spokesman told the board that Tri-County would oppose any tax of more than $600 on a parcel, regardless of its size.

Consequently, trustees had little choice but to do what Tri-County asked, which was to cap the tax at $600. The landlord group lobbied hard to keep Measure E from passing earlier this year, and there is no reason to believe that if it weren't satisfied with the new tax measure, it would do so again.

There was a possibility that a $2 million tax, which is what some parents wanted, could pass without Tri-County's approval -- Measure E lost by just 292 votes -- but with a $1.6 million tax that will barely impact large property owners, it seems even more likely to succeed.

The difference comes in the cost to larger property owners. Most homeowners will pay $75 a year, which is close to the average of $70 they would have paid under the square-foot tax plan defeated in June. But under the new plan, large property owners will pay far less.

Owners of the largest properties would have had to pay up to $50,000 under the previous plan. In comparison, the $600 maximum parcel tax is practically negligible.

Like the plan for Measure E, the new tax would go toward reinstating cuts made to counseling, music and arts, and after school sports -- programs that are only surviving this year because of private donations.

Paying for extracurricular services and activities has been a problem because the school district is vulnerable to the whims of the state budget, a situation that is not likely to become more predictable, especially with a new governor and a new agenda in Sacramento.

These needs have not changed, and those who voted for Measure E in June likely will do so again in March.

While properly educating voters on the measure will take some work, parents and others concerned about the future of the local education system should feel more confident because the board selected a compromise tax, even if it seems too small.

Children in school next year will know that $1.6 million makes a difference.

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