Measure J needed by schools, supported by businesses Measure J needed by schools, supported by businesses (February 20, 2004)

Parcel tax needs two-thirds vote to pass

By Julie O'Shea

The Mountain View-Whisman School District is counting on voters to approve a $1.6 million parcel tax on March 2 in order to keep its libraries fully staffed, class sizes small, and programs such as art and music running next year.

But more pressing, district officials say Measure J funds may be the only way to prevent a school closure next fall.

"If Measure J fails, we are absolutely closing a school," said school board trustee and campaign co-chair Gloria Higgins, "or we need to find $350,000," the cost of running one of the district's nine campuses. A school closure task force is set to unveil its recommendation to trustees on March 25.

Measure J, which will cost the average homeowner $75 a year, will need a two-thirds vote to pass at the polls next month. This will be the elementary-and-middle school district's second parcel tax election in less than a year.

If voters approve Measure J, the tax would be assessed based on the size of each individual parcel of land within the school district boundaries, with owners of the largest lots paying no more than $600 per year. Seniors can apply for an exemption.

This is a welcome change for local business owners who opposed last June's Measure E campaign. The 5-cent-per-square-foot parcel tax measure, which lost by 292 votes, would have cost some big businesses $50,000 a year.

By contrast, Measure J has received a swell of business support, including a hefty $1,000 campaign donation from Microsoft. And the Tri-County Apartment Association, a landlord advocacy group and Measure E's biggest critic, agreed it would not oppose the tax measure because it has a $600 cap and a special exemption for people whose properties are subdivided into multiple lots.

This tax uses a "band" system. Property owners with parcels up to 8,000 square feet will pay $75 a year; parcels from 8,001 to 14,000 square feet will be assessed $150; 14,001 to 22,000 square feet $200; 22,001 to 28,000 square feet $300; 28,001 to 44,000 square feet $400 and those more than 44,000 square feet will be assessed $600.

In addition, the school board decided in December that contiguous properties, or properties divided into multiple lots, would only be taxed once based on the total square footage of the entire piece of property. This means that if a person owns one plot of land with 12 parcels measuring 8,000 square feet each, the bill would assess the total square footage, 96,000 square feet, of land owned. In this case, the property would be in the 44,000 and higher band, and the annual bill would be $600. Without this exemption, the property owner would be charged $75 per parcel or $900 per year.

Currently working off a "bare-bones" budget, school officials say they need the extra funds to help cushion the damaging blow of statewide education cuts that could worsen if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $15 billion "recovery" bond fails at the polls next month. The governor has indicated that if voters don't approve the bond, he may be forced to cut school funds in order to close the state's mounting budget gap.

"I think my hopes are for a win -- that is my only hope, whether it be by two votes or 1,000," said Teri Jara, co-chair of the Measure J campaign and a Monta Loma Elementary School parent.

To think otherwise, Jara added, would be devastating.

Higgins said she is unsure if the school district would go out for a third tax bid if voters reject what's currently on the table.

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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