After five public meetings with moderate attendance, the Scotts Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees decided Tuesday, Nov. 16, that it will survey voters in the district about the feasibility of a parcel tax.
The district is looking for ways to bridge a funding gap created by California’s $25 billion deficit. After cutting more than $2 million from its previously $19 million budget in the past several years, the district is operating at a bare-bones capacity, according to a presentation from the district’s chief business official, Karen Jelcick.
“If we have to make much further cuts, we are getting below what we feel are sustainable levels,” Jelcick told about 50 people at a budget forum at the Scotts Valley Community Center on Saturday, Nov. 13.
School funding is projected to drop again for the next several years, and if funding and spending by the district remain the same, the district will be in the red by 2013, Jelcick said.
Class sizes have increased as teacher positions are cut, and activities like sports and drama have been eliminated or scaled back. A parcel tax would pay specifically for teacher salaries and programs and could not be used for facilities.
Scotts Valley High senior Luke Thornley spoke Saturday about teacher cuts in the drama department — a department, he said, that gives value to students who might otherwise feel left out at the school.
“If you have a healthy school environment, then you have a healthy social environment,” he said. “Our schools, they need help. We need to do as much as possible to help them.”
The Scotts Valley Educational Foundation, along with parent clubs at each of the schools, raises close to $1 million each year, to be used for sports and other activities.
A parcel tax has been explained by district officials as the only realistic solution to bridge a budget deficit, because of the already severe cuts. District representatives suggested further that the fundraising capacity of the community may already be stressed.
Also, schools are limited by the state and cannot use a sales tax to support themselves, trustees have said.
In the discussion, Gene Scothorn, a senior who represents seniors in the community, said the tax must have a senior exemption if it has a chance to pass in Scotts Valley. He also noted the need for a sunset date on the measure .
Trustees will accept bids from professional survey companies in December.
If a tax is to go on the ballot in 2011, the school board must decide by Feb. 4 for a May 3 mail-in ballot or March 11 for the June 7 precinct ballot.
