Schools could ask Redwood City, San Carlos property owners to pay more
By: Beth Winegarner
Examiner Staff Writer
January 18, 2009
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| Deep cuts: School districts are looking to taxpayers to help with budget shortfalls. (Examiner File Photo) |
REDWOOD CITY — Surrounded by a sea of schools buoyed by voter-approved parcel taxes, two cash-strapped districts are eyeing ballot measures that would boost their cash reserves by asking local property owners to pay more taxes.
San Carlos School District failed in its November 2008 bid to increase its $75 parcel tax, established in 2003, to $185 — and is planning to return to voters in May or June for another try. The Redwood City School District, which has no parcel tax on the rolls, could go to voters this year after failing to garner support for an $85 parcel tax in 2005.
Neither has named a price for a future tax.
While school districts receive the lion’s share of their funding from the state and bankroll construction projects through voter-approved bonds, many use parcel taxes as a way to pay for extras, from smaller class sizes to librarians and music teachers.
Eleven of San Mateo County’s school districts receive some parcel-tax revenues, ranging from $75 per property in the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District to $491 in tony Hillsborough School District.
Redwood City School District has used reserves and cuts to patch its budget since the 2005 tax failure — but now faces at least another $3.5 million in cuts from state sources, according to Superintendent Jan Christensen. The district expected revenues of $75.6 million this year.
“Our budget shortfall changes every day,” said Redwood City School Board member Hilary Paulsen. “We’ve been told we won’t get the money this year for smaller class sizes.”
The district nearly went to voters last November but held off, fearing the tax would be lost among the plethora of other decisions voters faced, according to Paulsen. Last week, the board reviewed recent input from community and government groups to determine whether — and how much — local property owners would support in a parcel tax.
Meanwhile, San Carlos is polling voters and will know more by the end of January about their fiscal limits — after learning in November that $185 was too much, according to board member Mark Olbert.
San Carlos faces a minimum $1.6 million shortfall on its $20 million budget.
“Our condition is pretty grim. Staff has talked about things like eliminating the world language programs and band, laying off librarians and cutting back on tutoring programs,” Olbert said. “The things San Carlos has said they want for their children are at risk of going away.”
School funds
How much locals are currently paying to Peninsula school districts:
- Belmont-Redwood Shores School District: $78 per parcel
- Brisbane School District: $96 per parcel
- Burlingame Elementary School District: $297 per parcel, plus cost-of-living increases
- Hillsborough School District: $491 per parcel in 2008 (increases each year)
- La Honda-Pescadero Unified: $100 per parcel
- Las Lomitas and Menlo Park School Districts: $196 to $311 per parcel
- Menlo Park Elementary School District: $97 per parcel (cap)
- Portola Valley School District: $290 per parcel
- San Carlos School District: $75 per parcel
- San Mateo-Foster City School District: $75 per parcel
- Woodside School District: $196 per parcel, plus cost-of-living increases
