Los Altos School District administrators aren’t savoring last week’s slim parcel-tax victory – they are busy trying to close the $6.5 million budget gap.
Final results of the May 3 mail-in election showed the $193 parcel tax passed by 54 votes, with 67.06 percent voting in favor (9,187) and 32.94 percent voting against (4,512). Measure E required approval from at least two-thirds of voters – 66.67 percent – to pass.
Superintendent Jeff Baier said passage of the parcel tax, which will provide the district an additional $2.3 million a year, is only one component of the budget solution. District officials continue to meet weekly with their negotiating groups to define a long-term budget solution.
“We are trying to come up with a solution that brings our long-term revenues in line with our expenses,” Baier said.
Los Altos Teachers Association President Jim Grijalva, who has been surveying teachers to learn what concessions they will make to help close the budget gap, said teachers are leaning toward offering short-term savings via furlough days, possibly five.
In terms of savings over the long run, Grijalva said teachers are willing to pay 10 percent of their medical benefits (they currently pay 5 percent), and a restructuring of benefits versus salary could offer additional savings.
“Of course the district wants more,” he said. “But that is all the teachers said they can afford.”
In addition to working with employee groups, Baier said the district board is prioritizing proposed cuts in the event that additional money becomes available through employee concessions or a revised state budget.
The goal is to create a baseline budget that clearly defines which programs are funded and which are cut, Baier said. After the district agrees on a budget outline, the Los Altos Educational Foundation is scheduled to step in and salvage programs the district can no longer fund.
The next step in the baseline-budget process involves Gov. Jerry Brown’s May Revise of the state budget, scheduled for release Monday. The district is bracing for the worst, however, the May Revise could bring good news.
With the parcel tax absorbing $2.3 million of the deficit, district employees’ concessions and a grant from the Los Altos Educational Foundation, the school district may be close to addressing its budget shortfall. The district is required to submit a balanced budget to the state by June 30.
Relief – and
disappointment
Without Measure E funds, a balanced budget would have been that much more difficult to achieve, which explains why supporters are so relieved by the election’s outcome.
“I think the biggest message it sends is that we have a community that believes public education is hugely important,” Baier said. “We know there is still work that needs to be done to bring our budget into balance, but we are very grateful for the value our community places on education.”
The Los Altos School District’s parcel-tax election was closer than those in neighboring districts with similar measures on the ballot. Measure E supporter Jay Gill said the Los Altos results had a lot do with the organized opposition.
“While the margin of victory was small, it is important to put this in perspective,” said Gill, a leader of the Yes on E campaign. “The two-thirds requirement – the highest approval threshold in politics – is a very high bar to clear even in the best of times. In the middle of a very challenging economy, with an aggressive opposition, it becomes even harder to clear that bar.”
One of the leaders of the No on E campaign, Los Altos Hills resident Courtenay Corrigan, said she is disappointed in the result and wishes she could have done more to prevent the measure from passing.
“There really were no winners in the end of this election,” she said. “This is just prolonging the agony the district has to go through to balance its budget. I’m still not convinced this is driven by the state crisis.”
Corrigan said she was upset that the opposition was painted solely as disgruntled parents of Bullis Charter School, which does not benefit from the parcel tax.
Ron Haley, another vocal member of the No on E group, said he may call for a recount. He has within five days of the vote certification, expected this week, to request an official recount.
