Schools Likely to Ask Voters for Tax Renewal

The will likely ask the voters in June to renew a $309 per parcel tax that raises $2.3 million per year for the district – money it says it desperately needs.

“We have excellent schools, great teachers, amazing parents,” said Superintendent Eileen Rohan. “It’s important that the community supports education.”

If don’t pass in November, the district will lose $800,000, said RVSD Business Manager Jim Cerreta. Because the vote on those measures will come in the school year, the district would have to dip into its reserves – leaving a structural deficit of over $1 million.

“If [the parcel tax] is not renewed,” said Cerreta, “we have another $2.3 million to cut” – out of an $18 million annual budget

The current parcel tax was first passed in 1993 and renewed again in 1997 and 2005. It is currently set to expire in June 2014. The district, though, opted to rush and put this renewal on the June 2012 ballot, because parents urged them not to wait until after the state budget decisions in November, said Rohan.

“It gets more complicated in November, it’s easier in June,” she said, noting that there will be a number of state budget measure and other initiatives on the June ballot that might make the school district’s issues get lost in the shuffle.

Right now, at the RVSD Board’s request, the district hired consultants to conduct a survey of the community. The survey, of which of similar one was conducted before the , is done by phone and asks community members about their willingness to support a tax measure for different school-related items and issues. (ie. ‘Would you support a tax increase to keep class size small?’ or ‘Is it important to you to have modernized science equipment in classrooms?’)

The results of the survey will be presented to the board at the Feb. 28 meeting and will inform the board decision on what language, if any, should be put on the ballot and how long an extension to ask for.

The board, though, urged Rohan to press the consultants for a meeting sooner than Feb. 28.

At the Feb. 7 board meeting, board members thanked district staff for rushing to make the June ballot possible, but also argued that a decision must be finalized soon so that community members can be informed and get involved.

“When is our community going to be aware and rally the troops?” asked Board President Chris Carlucci.

The board may hold a special meeting over the President’s Day/Ski Week holiday to discuss only the parcel tax renewal, but it hasn't been decided yet.

What is likely to be approved is a renewal of the current parcel tax for an eight year period, which is its current term. The current parcel tax was approved at $254.49 in 2005 and has a 4 percent increase built into it every year. It is now at $309.66 per parcel.

The parcel tax was originally passed to maintain high-quality of education, reduce class sizes, support educational programs, minimize lay-offs, and maintain library services. It is likely any language passed for the June ballot will include similar items.

, which was aimed at addressing overcrowding and facility issues. .

Voters also approved in 1999 a $29 million modernization bond, of which $17 million is still outstanding, said Cerreta.

In the past few years, the district has had extensive cuts because of decreases in state and federal funding. Since 2008, $2.7 million has been cut from the district budget, and . The cuts reduced the amount of instructional aid time, reduced librarian time, implemented some layoffs, made the HR position and Brookside Principal both part-time (which was temporarily restored for this year), and cut five percent district-wide in supplies.

For the next year, things remain uncertain.

The district will have to prepare two different budgets – one in case the state tax measures fail and the district must cut $800,000, and one for if they pass. Even if the tax measures pass in November, it’s not certain that state money will come in a timely manner or can be counted on.

“You always hope for the best, but you have to prepare for the worst,” said Cerreta.

If the community doesn’t pass the parcel tax renewal in June and then the November state measures fail, “we’ll probably go back out again [for another attempt to pass the parcel tax],” said Rohan.