Parcel Tax Measures In Campbell, Palo Alto School Districts Pass

Parcel tax measures in the Palo Alto Unified and Campbell Union school districts have passed, according to election results certified Tuesday by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.

Special vote-by-mail elections were held May 5 for both measures and needed a two-thirds, or 66.7 percent, approval by registered voters in both districts.

Measure A in the Palo Alto Unified School District received 77.34 percent of “yes” votes from all 19 precincts, according to certified election results. The measure will increase the district’s per-parcel tax by $120 to $758 annually and renews the current tax set to end on June 30, 2016, according to the measure’s supporters.

The tax will help reduce class sizes, support teacher salaries and fund academic programs including science, engineering, math, reading, writing, arts and music, measure supporters said.

Measure B in the Campbell Union School District passed with 67.56 percent of voter approval from all 26 precincts, according to the certified election results.

The Campbell Union district will tax $49 per parcel for eight years to help maintain core academic programs, support struggling students and retain highly qualified teachers, according to measure supporters.

The Campbell district did not have a parcel tax going into the special election, according to measure supporters. Between both special elections, 28,759 ballots were processed and counted and 33.47 percent of eligible registered voters had cast their votes, according to the county registrar’s office.

Ballots that reached the registrar’s office by 8 p.m. before Election Day or were postmarked on Election Day and came in by May 8 were counted, election officials said. Additional processing was needed for ballots that were torn, damaged or marked in a way that made it difficult for the tallying machines, according to election officials.

--Bay City News

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