Come the June election, residents living in the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District will have a chance to decide whether it can continue relying on a multi-million dollar parcel tax used to support core programming and retain high quality staff.
For years, BRSSD has had two parcel tax measures in place, Measure R which voters approved in 2013 and Measure K, approved in 2018. By charging residents $292 a year per parcel, the measures bring in about $3.5 million into the district annually for core academic programs, to attract and maintain teachers and support staff and to prevent deep cuts among other initiatives, according to the district.
“Measures R and K provide the resources needed to keep highly qualified teachers in the classroom and ensure our students have the skills they need to compete in both high school and college and even beyond,” said Chandra McKeon, a teacher and parent in the district.
Interested in maintaining that financial support, the Board of Trustees unanimously backed sending the measures back to the ballot as one parcel tax measure of $292 per parcel and to ask voters to renew the revenue stream for the next 10 years.
Trustee Suvarna Bhopale said the ask of residents was “imminently reasonable” given that the district was not proposing an increase of the tax. And board Vice President Jim Howard noted that the measure takes into account potential financial hardships experienced by seniors and those with disabilities who are eligible to opt out of paying the tax.
Trustee Rahila Passi also shared her strong support for sending the measure back to the ballot with Passi noting each trustee has children in the district who have benefited from the additional support.
“The funding is going to continue the things that we are already doing in our district and what makes our district great so it absolutely makes sense for us to continue that policy on for the next generation of students coming into our district,” Passi said.
In addition to the standing programs the funds have gone toward, Trustee Amy Koo noted dollars will also support the district’s efforts to hire on more counselors, an initiative started in response to the effects of the pandemic on students and initially funded by one-time federal COVID-19 recovery aid.
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“We see a lot of value in that and it’s not going to end in one or two years. We’re going to need a lot of health and well-being support for a while. It’s impacting a whole generation,” Koo said.
Superintendent Dan Deguara said more than 66% of voters would have to support the measure for it to take effect. Given that Measure K barely cleared the ballot box with 67.51% of the vote in 2018, board President Sam Leinbach said getting the combined measures renewed could be an uphill battle especially given that many families have not voted in the past.
“We can’t recommend how anyone should vote but if it were to pass we would need a large amount of participation from the community to do this,” Leinbach said.
Gopal Ratnam, the co-chair of the measure campaign committee and a parent of two daughters in the school district, said he would fight to bring the funds back to the district having seen firsthand how the programs have benefited his eldest daughter who he said has flourished at her school.
“I would not want my second one who’s just starting their schooling to miss out on these opportunities,” Ratnam said. “This is too big and too important to just be a bystander. ... In my capacity as a co-chair I will do everything possible to spread the word and make this happen.”
In his current budget proposal, the Governor is allocating $20,000 per student available from State funding. If the School District cannot manage to educate our children with that very generous amount perhaps new leadership is needed instead of hitting us up again for more money.
Well of course they are. Pensions and benefits aren't getting any cheaper and the gravy train of money is needed to fund all those retirees now and in the future. I could be wrong on that front, but perhaps some statistics on how well the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District stacks up to other districts in terms of academic achievement, graduation rates, assessment scores, etc. If there are no increases in student performance, there’s no need for any increases in parcel taxes, or any fees. Perhaps waivers for those homeowners who have no kids attending schools in the school district - after all, these homeowners don’t get anything out of it. Well, except taxation without representation…
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In his current budget proposal, the Governor is allocating $20,000 per student available from State funding. If the School District cannot manage to educate our children with that very generous amount perhaps new leadership is needed instead of hitting us up again for more money.
Well of course they are. Pensions and benefits aren't getting any cheaper and the gravy train of money is needed to fund all those retirees now and in the future. I could be wrong on that front, but perhaps some statistics on how well the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District stacks up to other districts in terms of academic achievement, graduation rates, assessment scores, etc. If there are no increases in student performance, there’s no need for any increases in parcel taxes, or any fees. Perhaps waivers for those homeowners who have no kids attending schools in the school district - after all, these homeowners don’t get anything out of it. Well, except taxation without representation…
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
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Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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