Draft of parcel tax measure on the table in SV

Scotts Valley’s school trustees, and the public, will discuss the first draft of a parcel tax measure that will go before Scotts Valley voters in 2012.
The public meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Scotts Valley City Council Chambers, 1 Civic Center Drive in Scotts Valley.
The first draft of the measure does not include when voters will have a chance to decide on the ballot or for how much the tax would be.
Highlights of the proposal
**The parcel tax would be for four years for parcels in the Scotts Valley Unified School District.
**Trustees have not yet decided on the amount. According to prior discussion it will fall between $48 per parcel to more than $100 per parcel.
**Seniors and those receiving government disability benefits have the option of exempting themselves from the tax.
**The tax would be used only to pay direct costs for classroom teachers for maintaining reading and writing skills, maintaining math and science, retaining teachers and preventing further class size increases.
**The proceeds from the tax could not be used for administrator salaries or benefits, capital improvements, operational expenses or salary and benefits for non-classroom personnel.
Trustees have been working on the proposal for the last year as they seek to find a way to make up for drastic cuts in educational funding at the state level. A parcel tax, according to the measure, will allow for a stable source of locally-controlled funding.
Read the full text of the draft measure here: http://www.svusd.santacruz.k12.ca.us/boe/documents/C1bParcelTaxMeasureDraftFinal121311.pdf