THREE SEPARATE bond and tax measures for school districts in San Mateo County will head to the voters for the June election.
Measure A: Ravenswood bond measure
One is Measure A, a ballot measure to allow the Ravenswood City School District to issue bonds of up to $70 million. The money would go toward facilities projects including the construction of additional classrooms, which the district says are needed due to a projected “significant increase in enrollment” as the result of the unexpected closure of the Primary School.
The Primary School, a tuition-free school backed by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, will close its campuses in East Palo Alto and San Leandro this summer. The closure is expected to cause an enrollment surge of 20% as students transfer to schools in the Ravenswood City School District, according to an argument submitted by board trustee Jenny Bloom in favor of the measure.
Without Measure A, “hundreds of students will be forced into aging, deteriorating ‘temporary’ portables that are decades past their useful life,” reads Bloom’s submitted argument.
The $70 million in bonds would be paid for by raising property taxes in the district to $27.50 per $100,000 for 27 years. The measure will also allow the projects to qualify for matching funds from the state.
In addition to building more classrooms, the funding would support upgrades to infrastructure such as air conditioning and ventilation systems, plumbing, parking facilities, landscaping, and restrooms. It would also help fund improvements for energy efficiency and technology in classrooms.
Mark W.A. Hinkle, president of the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, filed the sole argument against Measure A. The argument accuses the district’s Board of Education in the school district of being corrupt and improperly using the funds to pay salaries.
A rebuttal to the argument submitted by Bloom called Hinkle’s argument “fearmongering.”
As part of the measure, the use of the bond funding will be monitored by a citizens’ oversight committee established by the board in addition to annual audits.
The measure requires 55% approval by voters in the Ravenswood City School District in order to pass.
The other two measures are proposed parcel taxes for the Brisbane School District and the Redwood City Elementary School District.
Measure B: Brisbane parcel tax renewal
The Brisbane School District is asking voters to approve Measure B, which involves renewing a previously approved special parcel tax from 2012 that will expire in June. Voters approved the parcel tax’s extension in 2018, but that extension concludes this year.
The measure would extend the existing parcel tax at the current rate of $166 per parcel for a term of eight years.
The funding would support school libraries, educational programs, hiring and retaining staff, and expand student access to computers and modern technology. It would not go toward the salaries of administrators.
Taxpayers in the district who are 65 years of age or older and also own and occupy a parcel can apply for an exemption from the tax. Those who are already exempt from the district’s existing parcel tax will be automatically exempt from Measure B without having to file a new application.
The measure is estimated to raise $535,000 annually if approved by at least two-thirds of those voting in the district.
Hinkle, the same person who filed an argument against Measure A, also was the only party to submit an argument against Measure B. The same accusations of corruption, with nearly identical text in the arguments, were made across all three measures.
No argument in favor of Measure B was filed.
Measure C: Redwood City parcel tax
The Redwood City Elementary School District also put a measure for a parcel tax on the June ballot. Measure C would authorize a tax of 17.5 cents per building square foot per year on parcels in the district. Parcels without buildings would pay $25 per year.
The tax would last for eight years and is expected to raise $12.2 million annually.
The stated purpose of the funding is to attract and retain qualified teachers, counselors and school staff and to preserve and enhance educational programs in science, technology, engineering, math, reading, and writing. With rising costs of living in the region, the goal of the funding is to make Redwood City Elementary School District an attractive and competitive destination for quality teachers, according to the district’s Board of Trustees.
Five people filed a joint argument in favor of the measure, including small business owners, a former mayor of Redwood City, and the president of the district’s teacher’s union.
“Due to rising costs and unstable state and federal funding, Redwood City School District is facing painful layoffs and deep cuts,” the argument reads. “Without Measure C, we risk losing some of our great teachers to less expensive areas or higher-paying districts.”
Some property owners may qualify for exemptions from the tax. Those who receive Supplemental Security Income for a disability, are 65 years of age or older, and those who receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and also make below a certain annual income may be excused from having to pay the tax.
The tax funding would be subject to monitoring from a citizens’ oversight committee appointed by the district’s Board of Trustees, and spending would not be allowed on administrative salaries or pensions. Independent financial audits of the revenues and spending would also be conducted annually.
Hinkle was again the sole person to submit an opposing argument. In his filing, he dismissed the legitimacy of the required oversight and criticized what he sees as a broad scope of projects that can qualify for the funding.
“Citizen oversight ends when votes are cast,” it said. “If you could trust the board, why would you need oversight?”
A group of local citizens, workers and business owners filed a rebuttal against Hinkle, criticizing his use of nearly the same exact arguments for each school district ballot measure.
“Measure C’s lone opponent has decided to write the same boilerplate argument against nearly every ballot measure in the county,” the rebuttal reads.
The rebuttal also pointed to the oversight requirements in the measure and its spending restrictions.
In order to pass, Measure C needs to receive at least two-thirds approval from those voting.
The San Mateo County Registration and Elections Division will begin mailing ballots to all registered voters in the county by May 4. Early in-person voting also begins May 4 with three voting centers opening in South San Francisco, San Mateo and Redwood City.
Additional voting centers will open in the week leading up to Election Day on June 2.
