Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Extending Parcel Tax

Voters appear to have approved the extension of a parcel tax for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District in a vote-by-mail election Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

More than 74 percent of voters approved the $144 annual per parcel tax, according to the county elections division.
Two-thirds of the voters in the district -- which includes the communities of San Ramon, Alamo, Blackhawk, Danville, Diablo and small portions of Walnut Creek and Pleasanton -- were needed for the measure to pass.

Of the nearly 81,000 registered voters within the district, less than 24,000 returned the vote-by-mail ballots, or roughly 29 percent, according to the elections office.

The tax contributes roughly $6.7 million annually and allows the district to maintain a funding stream that was first approved by voters in 2004 and then renewed in 2009, Superintendent Mary Shelton said.

“State funding has never really been sufficient to have all that San Ramon offers,” Shelton said. “We’re just very grateful to our community for their support of our schools.”

In addition to state funding and the parcel tax, Shelton said the district also receives donations from parents and private businesses. Those donations total more than $17 million each year, according to the district’s website.

The school district has an annual budget of more than $230 million, Shelton said.

The money from the parcel tax will fund reading, writing, math and science programs, Advanced Placement courses, teacher training and career and technical training courses.

The parcel tax measure also comes with the provision that an independent citizens oversight committee will continue to ensure all funds are spent as promised, none of the funds will be used for administrators’ salaries and that the tax will expire in nine years.

Homeowners over the age of 65 are eligible for an exemption from the tax.

Without the funding, Shelton said the district would have been forced to make cuts.

“It would have been a board decision on what to cut,” Shelton said. “But, there’s no way to cut $7 million without cutting the heart of the programs here.”

A representative in the elections office said official results are expected by the end of the week.

--Bay City News; Image Patch Archive

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