The West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) board unanimously approved a resolution to order an election in March to levy a three-year annual $48 district parcel tax following a public hearing Friday morning.
The measure will share a ballot on March 2, 2021 with the county’s recently finalized West County Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) measure, both seeking funds that could invigorate the district’s budget, which is weakening under an ongoing structural deficit and declining enrollment.
According to the measure’s introduction in the full text reviewed by the board, the parcel tax would raise $1.15 million annually “to renew and provide stable funding that the State cannot take away; protect music, art, dance, shop, culinary and other career technical programs, retain teachers and staff” and maintain low class sizes.
The introduction asks if the measure should be adopted to “have no funds for administrators’ salaries, provide a senior citizens’ exemption and have all funds stay local.”
The trustees also approved minor amendments to the measure’s wording, primarily spelling out the names of Analy, El Molino and Laguna high schools in the text of the measure.
Superintendent Toni Beal said staff would need to drive the final document to the Registrar of Voters office immediately after the meeting. In a previous meeting, Beal named Dec. 4 as the measure’s submission date.
The board did not approve a community suggestion to put the explicit purpose of keeping a school open in writing. District administrators, trustees and community members have expressed conflicting views on the intent of various efforts to delay a fixed consolidation decision.
“I understand the concern around the language of the ballot measure, but I think at this point I’m willing to make it as palatable as possible for as many people as possible,” said Jeanne Broome, the board’s student representative from El Molino. “I think it will be easier to convince people to vote for it in a more personable, one-on-one manner. I’ll Zoom with anyone and give them my case.”
Debbie Ramirez asked during public comment if the board would consider wording the parcel tax to include “something about striving to keep the comprehensive sites open.” She said, “I know that’s a big concern in the community. There’s a lot of talk about what exactly is this for, ‘Is it just kicking the can down the road?’ And it’s really sort of in line with the TOT in that it’s a temporary bridge-funding issue, and that doesn’t appear in the actual language.”
Heather Dale Best also spoke to the intent of bridge-funding and recommended mentioning the names of each school. “I know that deep down, the purpose of this tax and this election is to create a bridge that will buy us some time so that our whole community can have input and truly work together,” she said. “I understand that there’s a fine line to make it clear, but I also think it’s very important that it be very honest and clear in what the true purpose of the verbiage is.”
Greg Isom of Isom Advisors has been consulting the district on the parcel tax’s feasibility and said he’s heard many different messages from different people. “And I’ve thought that I heard, you know, we don’t want to necessarily mention the word ‘consolidation,’ but when you’re talking about … ‘striving to keep a school.’ I mean, I’m open to that if the board wants it,” he said.
However, the district would need to wage a good campaign alongside the transient occupancy tax, according to Isom. “So, while it’s not necessary, the community is going to know what this parcel tax is for,” adding he didn’t think the addition of that language would cost votes.
“When you’re talking a special election, especially when you’re running a campaign side by side with the TOT, there needs to be some coordination between the two,” he later added. “That’s the most important part of the entire campaign … Make sure your messaging and your timing is the same.”
Board president Jeanne Fernandes said, “My concern is that it might actually be polarizing … because we kind of find ourselves with different camps here, and I don’t want to make people feel like, ‘This is just so they can keep that open.’” She added, “I think we need to keep it pretty vanilla.”
Board vice president Kellie Noe asked about the measure’s campaign leadership. “You know, we said this at the beginning, last year (the measure) barely passed. I think there is some voter fatigue out there just in general, so I think we are going to have to be pretty aggressive. If we get the message to our voters, generally they do vote yes. So, I think that’s the big thing.”
Jim Walton organized the Measure B campaign earlier in March of 2020, according to previous reporting by Sonoma West Times & News. He said he received Beal’s message Thursday about leading the parcel tax effort.
“Frankly, I’m still thinking about it,” he said, adding he wanted to speak with Beal further.
“I’m quite happy to help and direct, but I want to make sure there’s unity in what’s going on. I don’t want factions. The last thing this campaign needs is factions pulling in 20 different directions and I had some of that going on in November and it made my life sheer hell, to put it bluntly.”
Community organizer Adam Parks pledged to advocate for the parcel tax measure but also said factions within the community could jeopardize the crusade. “That is going to kill this before it ever gets on the ballot. So, until we address that issue and until we present this to the community in a fashion that’s going to be attractive to the community as fixing the actual problem, not what the solution is, I think that we are just spinning wheels.”
Fernandes confirmed the board canceled its Dec. 9 meeting and will discuss Chief Business Official Jeff Ogston’s first interim report and other Dec. 9 agenda items at the board’s Dec. 16 meeting, when the freshly-elected trustees will take the oath of office and the board reorganizes.
Ogston said over email that he will deliver the district’s first interim report to the Sonoma County Office of Education Dec. 15, with the understanding he will present the report to the board the following day.
