In November, San Carlos voters will decide on a proposed $185 permanent parcel tax which is aimed at helping the cash-strapped San Carlos School District. The district has faced massive cuts over the past few years with another $800,000 looming in the not-to-distant future. The article published in the San Mateo Daily Journal indicates that a preliminary poll shows support for the measure.
In my humble opinion, its about time. Folks in San Carlos have seem massive appreciation in home values over the past ten years. Part of this appreciation is due in large part to the dedicated professionals who make up the SCSD and who have made our school district one of the most desirable around. Schools in the SCSD have continually ranked among the best in the Bay Area and they have done it in the face of constant budget constraints.
The San Carlos Educational Foundation has been a huge help in providing the funds which the SCSD needs to bridge the gap between their operating budget and the funds given by the State. SCEF is a lifesaver for the SCSD and they do an excellent job showing the disparity between State funds and SCSD’s true need. I would strongly encourage anyone who has an interest in San Carlos education to visit their site.
Even with SCEF’s help, the district still needs a steady, reliable, revenue stream to overcome the cuts on the horizon.
A link to the complete article in the San Mateo Daily Journal can be found by clicking here http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=96005
12 Comments
Thanks for the info and analysis, Bob. I agree that the parcel tax is needed, and hopefully will be supported by those who have kids in the SC schools, as well as those who don’t. As you point out, we all have benefited from the increased property values that can be credited in large part to the school system.
The nice thing about a parcel tax is that it keeps our education tax dollars local. It’s my understanding that a large proportion of our state and federal tax dollars for education never make their way back to San Carlos, resulting in such basic programs as art, music and PE having to rely on outside, private funding. This is risky at best.
I agree that the SCEF has been fantastic, and would love to see the Foundation relieved of some of its burden to fund basic programs and instead be able to focus on things like class size reductions and other priorities that are currently out of reach.
Bob,
I guess I do not have an issue with the idea behind the proposed parcel tax, but I question its impact on those with a fixed income in San Carlos. While San Carlos has been somewhat arbitrarily been painted a “kids town” there are many elderly residents who live here. This parcel tax would certainly impact that particular section of our community.
Bill
Will the new parcel tax reverse if the state reverses the budget cuts? Or will we just double it again in 5 years regardless? Remember, it first started only 5 years ago.
Haven’t folks everywhere on the Peninsula and throughout California seen massive appreciation in home values over the past 10 years, regardless of the schools? Doesn’t the appreciation in home values naturally increase the tax base as new people move in and reset the Prop 13 values?
For the people seeing depreciation now, is that because the schools are getting worse?
I’ll vote for the tax. I think it’s terrible to punish our kids for the incompetent state legislature that has never been able to spend within its means. But 5 years from now, when home values haven’t appreciated and the schools go back to the well to double the tax again, I’ll work hard against it.
I think New Taxes has some very valid points in his post. It is naive to think that permanent or set taxes such as the one being discussed would be easily reversed if other funds suddenly become available from the State. Additionally, I agree that it is ridiculous to punish the kids because of the incompetence of the State on this particular issue.
I would also offer this: Folks all over California have seen very nice appreciation rates over the past 10 years, however, many of those folks are now seeing their property values plummet. San Carlos has remained remarkably stable. As someone who works with buyers every day who are trying to get into San Carlos, I can tell you that the San Carlos schools are always one of primary reasons for them wanting to live here. In many cases the schools are the number one reason for moving here.
San Carlos is located midway between Silicon Valley (south) and SF and the biotechs (north). You would be hard-pressed to find an area of the country that puts more of an emphasis on education. Peninsula cities which have been able to sustain a great public school system have been able to combat some of the effects of the nationwide housing downturn.
Every CA district is being impacted by the state’s budget crisis. The ones who are maintaining a well-rounded suite of programs (e.g.- small class sizes, PE, art, librarians, music education, technology instruction, counselors) as well as attracting and retaining high quality classroom teachers have two things in common: educational parcel taxes and educational foundations. No surprise that these are the very same communities whose property values are holding.
Even with significant turnover in homes, San Carlos is still a long way away from generating enough in property taxes to cover the district’s budget (the schools only receive ~$.25 of every property tax dollar). The only way to be insulated from the fluctuations in the state funding stream is to generate funds locally.
As for Bill’s question about those on a fixed income, anyone over age 64 can apply for an exemption to the tax.
Jennifer, good knowledge, and thanks for the info.
Bob, I know that you have touched on the Ed Foundation a few times on the blog, however, I think that it may be worthy of its own category or section on the blog. Many of us with kids just entering elementary schools have been unaware of just how large of a part it plays in San Carlos education. We became a part of it this year and were amazed at how little San Carlos schools actually get from the state and property taxes. We were also impressed with the focus and drive of all of those involved. I know that you have been involved in the Ed Foundation and might take this suggestion into consideration. Anyway, just a thought : )
JD
It would be great to look at the budget numbers for the district so that we could assess how much their budget has actually changed over the years. Unfortunately, the latest interim report I can find at their website is for the period ending January 31, 2006. I might be looking in the wrong place – Bob, can you put up the 2007 and 2008 numbers or point us to them? Their budget increased by 9% from 2004-2005 to 2005-2006, so it would be interesting to see how much it decreased (if any) since then.
The Superintendent announcement of the recent teacher settlement said: “The new salary schedule gives every teacher a 2.5% increase, retroactive to the beginning of the current school year. When added to contractually-defined increases for years of service and additional education, individual teachers will see their salary increase by 2.5% – 7.3%. The parties also agreed not to hold negotiations in the upcoming 2008/2009 school year, unless the state increases school funding more than is being currently proposed.”
So that means there’s going to be another negotiation as soon as this school year ends (or even sooner if the state increases funding, which obviously won’t happen). Another average raise of 3% will cost the district about $350,000 per year, or about 2% of their total budget, on top of the normal growth.
Spending on teachers is obviously a great thing. We want our kids to be educated and we want to attract great educators. However, this is the second time – in 5 years! – that the district is asking for a parcel tax, and the existing tax already grows at 3% per year. This new one will get negotiated away in the next bargaining cycle next summer, and then what? The current one expires in 2011. Want to bet the ballot then has a renewal and increase of it?
I want to spend on teachers and schools. San Carlos has great assets in both and I’m proud to have my kids in public school here. But we need the district to get on a sustainable spending path, and even before this new tax passes, we can already see that they’re not.
For more background on the budget situation, I suggest reading the Superintendent’s, Steve Mitrovich’s, post “Superintendent’s Negotiation Note” on the district’s website (http://www.sancarlos.k12.ca.us/News.htm). This was published prior to the teachers’ union and district settled, but it illuminates the challenges the district faces.
The current parcel tax was in response to the budget crisis of 2003. The parcel tax proceeds and SCEF saved key programs such as librarians, PE, music, middle school counselors and vice-principals. Since then, the state budget has been further cut and expenses out of the district’s control (e.g.- special education) have increased. Spending is not so much the issue as funding from the state is. The only way to sustain quality programs and retain quality teachers is to raise money locally- a reality in California.
Jennifer or Bob: Is there any way to see the budget from 2006 and 2007? As I mentioned the only budget data on the district website that I can find is from awhile ago. Given their budget was increasing quickly then, it would be great to see how much it is decreasing now. I’d happily post the exact numbers here if someone could point me to the more recent financial data.
Shouldn’t we want to see those numbers before supporting the measure?
The district’s consultant makes me especially worried that the need for the money to replace the state cuts is not what’s driving the ballot measure. The consultant says so explicitly:
“”This is a unique election,” said Brad Senden, one of the district’s consultants. “It is a unique opportunity to take advantage of a big ballot and pull it off. A misstep by (Sen. Barack) Obama, and this is a very different dynamic.”
Senden also suggested the district avoid a May 2009 mail-in ballot.
“If you look at the win-loss record, mail-in ballots look like something you should avoid,” he said.”
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_10000856
Can you point me to the recent budget numbers? I’d appreciate it, and I’ll happily post the actuals here.
Hi New Taxes,
We are working on finding the numbers. I hope to have something shortly.
Thanks,
Bob
I support the measure and hope my neighbors do the same! But I do have a question for some of my more informed neighbors — does Palo Alto have measures such as these to support its schools? How is that their district manages to consistently offer such excellent schools? And why oh why did San Carlos close down its high school? Based on my address, my kids are going to Sequoia, which is located across the street from a porn shop. Yuck.
Hi Carol,
Thanks for your post. In 2005, the Palo Alto Unified School District was successful with a ballot measure that levied a parcel tax of $493 to help support its schools.
There are a variety of reasons why Palo Alto has been so successful with maintaining their schools. First, their elementary through high schools are managed under their own school district, the PAUSD. In San Carlos, our elementary and middle schools are managed by the San Carlos School District. The high schools that are assigned to San Carlos are managed by the Sequoia Union High School District, which was responsible for closing San Carlos High School. The APIs for San Carlos Schools at the elementary and middle school level are very high. There is a noticeable drop with regard to most of the high schools in the Sequoia Union High School District.
You are one of many who have voiced support for a San Carlos high school.
Bob