February 10, 2006

ESD survey shows majority support parcel tax

Measure vote likely at Feb 16 Trustee session

By Diego Abeloos
Editor

A feasibility survey conducted for the Evergreen School District revealed a positive climate for the district to possibly consider placing a parcel tax measure on the ballot.

At a Feb. 2 work session held by the ESD Board of Trustees, representatives of Saggau & Derollo, a consulting firm commissioned by the district to conduct the survey, held a presentation of the survey’s findings to the board, which found, among other things, that support for a parcel tax remains strong among likely voters and that support was particularly strong among Evergreen parents with children in the district’s elementary schools.

The survey was conducted from Jan. 9-12, featuring 400 telephone interviews of likely June 2006 voters in the Evergreen area.

Throughout the phone interviews, interviewees were asked at three separate times how they would vote on a parcel tax measure. The first poll revealed an overall yes vote from 66 percent of the population surveyed, while a second poll showed a slight increase up to 71 percent. On the third try, interviewees clocked in at 69 percent in favor, while those voting no ranged from 27 to 30 percent when asked on three separate occasions how they would vote during phone interviews.

In addition, the survey revealed total support among Evergreen parents for a parcel tax at 75 percent, with 20 percent totally opposing it.

Kathy Gomez, ESD Director of Educational Services, said she wasn’t surprised by the survey’s findings.

“We have an excellent community here in Evergreen,” she said. “We work well with them and they’ve been very supportive … I think the survey results showed that overall.”

Still, Gomez cautioned that the Board of Trustees hasn’t made a final decision on whether to move forward with a parcel tax measure in the near future, despite a short timetable.

For the district to place a measure on the ballot in June of this year, a resolution must be filed calling for a measure election and tax rate statement by March 10, with absentee ballots mailed out as early as May 8. Gomez said despite the short timetable, the ESD Board of Trustees would consider speeding up the process in time for this June, should they decide to move forward. She added that another possibility is a special election in March of 2007.

Recommendations include parcel tax limit of $100, 10-year sunset clause

The survey also showed several recommendations for the board, including:

- The implementation of accountability and oversight mechanisms such as annual financial audits

- An independent citizen’s oversight committee

- A sunset clause of no longer than 10 years

- An exemption for residents over the age of 65

- Assurances that the parcel tax has a provision that will assist teachers, address class sizes and libraries

- Limiting the tax per parcel amount to no more than $100

Gomez added that the findings don’t guarantee anything, given the fact that support on a survey is far different from actually going to the polls and voting on it.

“Voting is our civic responsibility,” said Gomez. “It would definitely be important” for people to turn up and vote.

The survey findings coincided with a presentation from Jim Crawford, ESD Superintendent of Business Services, on the state of the district’s budget, ranging from the current school year to the 2008-09 school year.

Crawford’s presentation showed that ESD, at its current pace, will not meet the needed minimum reserve levels by the end of the 2007-08 school year. Crawford calculated in the possible ripple effects of the ongoing negotiations with the Evergreen Teachers’ Association, which Gomez said will hopefully see a new contract ratified by both parties toward the end of this month.

As the budget stands now, Crawford reported that ESD will be operating at deficits of more than $2 million annually starting with the 2006-07 year, with a general fund surplus of more than $8 million (as of this year) covering costs that go in the red.

Still, despite the current surplus in funds, operating at deficits through the 2008-09 school year will leave a little less than $1 million, while the minimum reserve levels require at least a low estimate of $3.9 million for 2008-09, with larger minimum reserves reaching $4.7 million or more for 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Crawford cautioned that while the numbers look bleak for the near future, nothing is definite; noting that possible cost-cutting measures, as well as several other factors, such as a possible upturn in the economy in the coming years, might see budget numbers reach more agreeable levels.

“It’s a planning tool, as we need to look at budget cuts during the next year or two,” Crawford said of his budget presentation. “…It tells you what has to change to stay positive in the future.”

In regard to a possible parcel tax measure by the ESD Board of Trustees, Crawford said “it’s definitely going to help” offset some of the costs in the coming school years, although he declined to go into specifics.

Gomez said the board would likely vote on whether to pursue a parcel tax measure at a Feb. 16 meeting held at the district offices at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.