Measure J wins, school closure unnecessary Measure J wins, school closure unnecessary (March 05, 2004)

Parcel tax will keep class sizes small, programs running

By Julie O'Shea

Mountain View-Whisman School District's desperately needed $1.6 million parcel tax, designated to keep libraries fully staffed and class sizes small, won at the polls Tuesday with 69 percent of the vote.

This victory was followed by more good news from Superintendent Jim Negri: "With Measure J and Proposition 57 (the governor's $15-billion recovery bond) passing, we won't have to close a school this year," he said. "State funding will be pretty consistent."

In contrast to the district's failed tax election last spring, Measure J, which will cost the average homeowner $75 a year, received 7,460 "yes" votes, while 3,342, or 30.94 percent, said "no." It required a two-thirds majority to pass.

With Measure J's passage, property owners within the school district's boundaries will be assessed an annual tax based on the size on their individual parcel of land for the next five years. The tax is capped at $600, and seniors can apply for an exemption.

Proposition 57 passed with 63.3 percent of the vote. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had warned that if it didn't pass he might be forced to make cuts to education funding.

"I called it. I called it exactly," said school board President Rose Filicetti on her way home from a Measure J victory party Tuesday night. "I'd say it's been a tremendous community effort. We deserve this."

Inside La Fiesta Restaurant where supporters of Measure J had gathered to celebrate, the scene was a mixture of joy and relief as conclusive election results were announced shortly after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, followed by loud cheers and hugs all around.

"The community really pulled together, not just the parents," Negri said with a wide smile. "I had a much better feeling going in because of the support."

Indeed, the community's response to Measure J contrasted to that of Measure E, the district's failed $2.5-million parcel tax that would have assessed a 5-cent-per-square-foot fee on all buildings in the city. Measure E received loud criticism from businesses, including a few that would have had to pay as much as $50,000 a year. In the end, that tax failed by 292 votes.

But Measure J received strong support from business leaders. According to Mountain View Educational Foundation President Amy Beare, businesses made up 46 percent of those who donated to schools this year.

Measure J was the only new, local education tax in Santa Clara County on Tuesday that managed to exceed the difficult two-thirds vote needed to pass. A parcel tax for Union School District in South San Jose was supported by 64.61 percent of voters, just short of the necessary two-thirds majority.

In neighboring San Mateo County, parcel taxes for Ravenswood and Portola Valley elementary school districts were approved by voters. And state Proposition 55, a $12.3-billion statewide education facilities bond, captured 50.6 percent of the vote.

The Measure J tax uses a "band" system to assess property owners. Owners of parcels up to 8,000 square feet in size 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 bigger than 44,000 square feet will be assessed $600.

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.

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

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