Redwood City schools seek tax hike: Officials justify parcel tax extension, increase but critic proposes alternatives

The proposed measure, an $18 hike from the district’s existing measure, has drawn the ire of committed tax critic Jack Hickey, who claims district officials should seek more creative forms of financial savings rather than look to voters for more money.

Alternatively, Superintendent John Baker said the tax generates an integral source of revenue for Redwood City schools to spend toward vital educational services the district would not otherwise be able to afford.

“When you look at other districts’ parcel taxes, it’s the icing on the cake,” he said. “But for us it isn’t the icing on the cake, it is part of the cake.”

As is the case from the existing measure, revenue is slated to be divided between each district school according to enrollment size and site officials are trusted to allocate the money to sponsor programs and staff needed to best fit the need of the local students.

District enrollment has declined over the past decade by about 1,500 students, not including the nearly 600 students who have enrolled in the charter schools, said officials. With fewer students comes less money allocated to the district by the state, making the tax measure even more necessary to supplement the lost income, said Baker.

But with a shrinking student body across the district, attributed by officials partially to the climbing cost of living locally, Hickey suggested alternatives such as examining the feasibility of consolidating schools and staff to save money.

“They have all this surplus land, they can’t sell it and use it for general purposes,” he said. “But they can lease it, and if they lease it, they can bring in money.”

Hickey, a member of the Sequoia Healthcare District Board of Directors and Redwood City resident, is a committed tax opponent and has a long track record of fighting proposed measures throughout the county.

Beyond recognizing opportunities for saving funds, Hickey also claims school officials have been less than transparent in their pitching of the tax as merely as extension to voters and not doing enough to emphasize the cost hike.

He said he has reached out to district officials in an attempt to revise the ballot language, only to have his efforts rebuked.

“The Measure U labeling is deceptive. It doesn’t say it is an increase, but it is an increase,” said Hickey. “I tried to get them to change it, but they weren’t interested.”

District officials though believe they have been adequately forthcoming in sharing the real cost of the tax with voters.

“For most people it hasn’t been an issue,” said Alisa MacAvoy, the district Board of Trustees president, of the ballot language.

Should the tax be approved by voters, it would generate roughly an additional $200 per student.

The district has struggled in the past to pass tax measures, but voters last fall supported a bond to finance construction of new school facilities. The most recent bond only addresses a portion of the necessary work identified by officials, who have suggested another measure to build additional facilities may be floated in the coming years.

Parcel taxes can pay toward financing school operations, while revenue from bonds may only be used to build more classrooms and school buildings.

District parent Zeke Mead, who has spearheaded the campaign rallying support for the parcel tax, said he especially appreciates the proposed design allowing site officials to allocate the revenue in the fashion they see best fit to accommodate the needs of students.

“The genius of the design is … you do what is right for your school and your neighbors,” he said.

Hickey though said he believed the district is funded well enough to serve its students already, and should look to operate in a more efficient fashion.

“There are a lot of people out there who think the schools don’t have enough money, but I’m not one of them,” he said.

Considering the budget struggles the district has traditionally faced, MacAvoy said she believed request for more money is justified.

“There is a real need,” she said. “We have been underfunded for years.”

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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