Alameda Unified School District Announces Streamlined Process for Measure H Refunds

The Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) has created a streamlined process for commercial property owners who want to apply for Measure H refunds, Interim Superintendent Sean McPhetridge, Ed.D., announced at this week’s Board of Education meeting.

A group of commercial property owners filed the lawsuit, Borikas et al. v Alameda Unified School District, in 2008. The plaintiffs claimed that because Measure H levied different charges on residential and commercial property owners, it was illegal under state law. The trial court sided with AUSD, but the California Court of Appeal declared partly invalid a portion of the tax rate that applied to commercial properties. The state Supreme Court denied the school district’s petition for review.

Tax refunds are granted for four years. As such, the deadline for eligible commercial property owners to submit claims for a refund is four years from the date of payment. Measure H was in effect from 2008 to March, 2011, which means that commercial property owners who paid property taxes in late 2010 and/or 2011 and want a refund should file for a refund as soon as possible.

Forms for the refund are available on the AUSD website. Only commercial property owners who paid more than $120 per year in Measure H taxes are eligible for a refund. (That $120 per year is the amount that residential property owners paid and the Court of Appeal found valid for commercial property owners.) Property owners who contacted the school district about a potential refund but have not yet filed a form will receive a refund dating back to their original contact date, but they still need to file an application.

“Because we are aware that the claims period will be coming to an end, we wanted to make this process as smooth and simple as possible,” says Interim Superintendent Sean McPhetridge, Ed.D. “We urge commercial property owners who want a refund to file soon so that they can get their refunds.”

The school district set aside $5.8 million in 2012 to cover possible refunds to commercial property owners. That fund, however, is part of the district’s reserve, so any monies withdrawn from that for Measure H refunds will need to be replaced from the general fund.

“I am so grateful to our community for continually supporting our schools,” says Margie Sherratt, president of the Board of Education. “And I am pleased that this new refund process has been put in place. AUSD works hard to be a responsible steward of public funds and I see this outreach to our current commercial property owners as an important piece of that.”

—Information submitted by Alameda Unified School District

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