County parcel tax takes shape County parcel tax takes shape (May 28, 2004)

Measure to help local schools could go to voters in November

By Julie O'Shea

Less than a year after approving a $1.6-million parcel tax for Mountain View-Whisman schools, city voters will likely be asked to pass an unprecedented countywide education tax, estimated to raise $77 million.

An opinion survey of 500 registered voters, released Monday, shows a 71-percent voter approval rate for the proposed $195-a-year parcel tax. But before it even heads to the polls, the state Legislature must first approve a law making such a tax legal.

If the tax does eventually win approval from state lawmakers and county voters, public schools in Mountain View and Los Altos would share a slice worth about $5 million, early estimates show. The money from the proposed countywide tax measure is currently earmarked to go toward student literacy programs and retaining and recruiting qualified teachers.

"We are very supportive of it. We are supportive of anything that puts funding into education," said Bob Nichols, a member of the California Teachers Board of Directors. "We need extra funding because we have some major problems in education in Santa Clara County."

School districts would get to keep 90 percent of all money raised within their boundaries. And the tax would give each of the county's 13,000 educators $2,000 annual bonuses.

Last week, representatives from the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, which is taking the lead in the parcel tax feasibility study, sat down with local school district superintendents and trustees to discuss the options on the table. Any measure floated would need a two-thirds vote to win.

"We know there is so much that needs to be done in our schools," the manufacturing group's Carl Guardino told local school officials at the special study session on May 21.

The plan now is to place a flat-rate tax on the Nov. 2 ballot. This means that all parcels in the county -- regardless of type or size -- would be taxed at the same rate. The amounts being considered are $195, $145 and $95. Recent public opinion surveys show there is strong support for a $195 tax. The tax would have a sunset provision of eight years, when it would have to go back to voters for a renewal. There would also be a exemption for senior citizens.

With just 51 percent of the county's 248,000 school children reading at grade level, Santa Clara County Superintendent Colleen Wilcox formed a Blue Ribbon Task Force last year to explore how local communities can improve education. In addition, Guardino said only 84 percent of the teachers in the county's classrooms are considered "qualified."

In March, the Mountain View-Whisman School District, on its second try, passed a $1.6-million parcel tax that will cost the average homeowner $75 a year, with the biggest parcels not paying more than $600.

Many in the business community opposed the district's first tax campaign, which would have forced some of them to pay as much as $50,000 a year had it passed. In the end, the school board went back to the table and came up with a tax that was capped at $600. That measure passed with 69 percent of the vote.

Carol Olson, president of the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, said Monday her organization hasn't taken an official stand on the county's proposed tax plans but hopes to do so next month.

"We look for things that are good for the community and that make us competitive," Olson said.

The campaign filing deadline for the November election is Aug. 6. Those leading the county's parcel tax feasibility study hope to get the green light from the county Board of Education by the end of June.

Guardino assured school officials that they would not have to fork over any money to cover the cost of the countywide election. Guardino said he didn't know where the money would come from but speculates the county Board of Education will likely cover the election's administrative costs through private donations.

However, Guardino added, if the county Board of Supervisors agrees to place the education measure on the ballot, there would be no election cost.

What local districts stand to gain

Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District $1.49 million

Mountain View-Whisman School District $1.74 million

Los Altos School District $1.56 million

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

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