Parcel tax heads back to court Parcel tax heads back to court (October 29, 2004)

School district reports errors in property bills

By Julie O'Shea

A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge is set to hear debate over whether funds from Mountain View-Whisman's $1.6-million parcel tax should be locked up until litigation in the Measure J case is completed.

Judge Kevin McKenney is scheduled to preside over the hearing on Nov. 9 in a San Jose courtroom.

McKenney ruled in September that Aaron Katz could take the school district to trial over the March parcel tax election, which he claims was conducted illegally because he and other property owners who don't live in the distrct were not allowed to cast a vote.

Katz lives in Saratoga, but through a partnership owns 10 condos within the school district's boundary. Measure J won with 69 percent of the vote. The tax will cost average homeowners about $75. Katz's annual share will be about $400, according to the school district.

Katz said he wants the tax funds frozen in order to avoid more troubles when and if the school district is ordered to pay back the taxpayers.

District officials will also be in court on Nov. 2 to schedule future hearing dates with the judge. A trial date for Measure J may be set then.

Meanwhile, property owners have begun to receive their annual bills for the Measure J tax -- based on the total square footage of each parcel of land -- and problems have already surfaced. Mountain View-Whisman officials said they have received a few calls from people complaining they were billed incorrectly.

"We have had a couple of errors," district finance chief Rebecca Wright conceded. "This is the first time this has happened (a parcel tax passed in the district), and errors get made."

Wright is encouraging residents to take a close look at their annual tax bills in order to catch any misprints.

On Oct. 17, Superintendent Eleanor Yick released an open letter to parents and the community updating them on the Katz case. Yick said the district plans to continue fighting the lawsuit, despite having spent $50,000 on legal bills so far.

"Because this case is precedent-setting for school districts all over California, we have asked other districts and state organizations to join us in creating a litigation defense fund to help defray legal costs," Yick wrote in the letter.

Wright said last week that San Mateo County counsel has asked the school district for more information about the Measure J case. While many state entities, such as the California School Boards Association, admitted they are keeping an eye on the Katz lawsuit, they generally don't get involved in such cases until after a court ruling is made and appealed.

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

E-mail a friend a link to this story.