School Board Approves Parcel Tax Feasibility Survey

The board unanimously approved to conduct a district-wide survey of eligible voters to determine the feasibility of a parcel tax as part of a plan to propose the tax in 2012.

The is the only district of the ones that feed into Sequoia Union High School District that .

Godbe Research will conduct research at a cost of approximately $21,000.

“We’re just going over some technical issues at this point,” said Superintendent Jan Christensen.

A proposed $91 annual parcel tax was narrowly shot down by voters in 2009, gaining only 64% approval. A super majority, or two-thirds vote, would be necessary to approve the tax.

As opposed to a December 2010 survey, Christensen said, this survey will be shorter and less complicated.

In this survey, Godbe asked voters whether they would support a parcel tax. More than 70 percent said ‘yes,’ and of that number, 71 percent said they would support a $60 parcel tax, the highest level. The other options were $52, $44 and $36 a year.

“But we never see that high support at the polls,” Trustee Hilary Paulson said in an August school board meeting.

However, there was concern regarding polling via phone dues to the increasing number of homes that do not have landlines.

“The results are being skewed now if you’re only polling people with land lines,” Christensen said. “The concern was the very same people have been polled for three years.”

Because robocalling is illegal on cell phones, some opinions may be left out.

The board will continue to discuss how to reach the widest audience possible.

The next Redwood City School District Board of Education meeting will be held on December 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the District Office at 750 Bradford St.