Santa Rosa City Schools vote on parcel tax proposal

Santa Rosa voters could see another tax proposal added to the ballot this November, on top of two revenue measures already added by the city.

A fiscal crisis stemming from a shortfall in state funding, declining enrollment after the October wildfires, rising employee health care and pension costs, and impacts from past budgeting errors has prompted Santa Rosa City Schools to consider a pair of parcel taxes that would raise around $4 million annually.

“Right now, while we’re in this wildfire recovery period, it’s especially important to invest in education,” school board President Jenni Klose said in an interview Friday. “We are underfunded in every way.”

The board is considering a ?$50 commercial and residential parcel tax over the course of eight years that would raise $3 million annually for high schools, and a $75 parcel tax that would raise $1 million at the elementary and middle school level.

The funds could be used on student education and faculty costs, not for administrative pay or facilities, Klose said.

The school board is set to vote on the proposal at its Aug. 8 meeting. Approval would put it on the November ballot, where it would be listed alongside a slew of state and local revenue measures.

The Santa Rosa City Council voted Tuesday to add a $124 million housing bond measure and a quarter-cent sales tax increase that would raise $9 million for the city, which has a budget gap due in large part to the ?October wildfires.

Because of the crowded ballot this November, the board also is considering election dates in the next two years. The deadline to qualify for the Nov. 6 ballot is Aug. 10, according to the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters.

About two-thirds of voters would support a parcel tax, according to the results of phone and online polling conducted for the district by San Mateo-based Godbe Research. The results were presented to the board at its Wednesday meeting.

However, the poll was conducted June 18-26, a month before Santa Rosa’s proposed housing bond and sales tax measures were approved by the City Council. Some board members expressed concern that adding a parcel tax measure to the November ballot could overwhelm voters.

“What I’m hearing from the community is there are just a lot of tax measures this election. This is an extraordinary election,” board member Ron Kristoff said. “I know we’ve had the fires and everything else but it seems like there’s more tax measures than I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Board member Ed Sheffield raised another concern: If the measure passes, would homeowners who lost their houses in the October wildfires have to pay the parcel tax?

“I can’t think of any way you could exempt those homeowners,” Charles Heath of Godbe Research told the board. “That’s a good question for your legal counsel. They ?may have a creative solution.”

Homeowners who are disabled, low-income or over age 65 are exempted from parcel taxes levied by school districts after a state law, AB 1891, was passed in 2016.

You can reach Staff Writer Susan Minichiello at 707-521-5216 or susan.minichiello@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter?@susanmini.