Las Lomitas tax decision delayed Las Lomitas tax decision delayed (December 10, 2003)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

A parcel tax for the Las Lomitas School District will not be on the March 2 ballot, but it may be put before voters in April in a special election.

The five members of the district's Board of Trustees chose to delay the measure until residents had been polled to gauge support for the tax and determine what amount would be acceptable, said board president Lee Anderson in an interview.

A rate of $98 per parcel that has been proposed would raise about $400,000 a year, which would go to maintain small class size, restore and maintain school programs, and attract and retain high-quality teachers, district officials have said.

Also figuring in the decision to delay the ballot measure was uncertainty about state budget priorities in January, when the governor must propose mid-year cuts. A parcel tax may be unnecessary if education funding is not seriously cut, Mr. Anderson said.

School districts such as Las Lomitas receive the bulk of their funding from local property taxes. Cuts at the state level would likely affect funding for textbooks and programs such as class-size reduction.

The governor's mid-year cuts announcement is scheduled for January 10, while the deadline for filing a ballot measure for a special election in April is January 16. The district plans to conduct the poll during the interval, Mr. Anderson said.

The contract with the polling organization mandates a cost to the district of less than $15,000, business manager De Modderman told the Almanac. The election itself would run another $10,000 to $20,000, Mr. Anderson said.

"There are costs associated with these activities and we take these very seriously," Mr. Anderson said. Once the purpose of the tax measure is made clear, "I think [voters] would understand the need to spend it," he said.

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