PUSD sends proposed parcel tax and bond to voters in November election (2024)

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously on Thursday, May 23, to send a parcel tax and a bond to voters in the upcoming November general election.

The two measures — a $90 per parcel tax expected to raise $5 million and a $60 per $100,000 assessed valuation bond expected to generate $900 million –- aim to raise funds for the financially struggling district. The goals include reducing reliance on state and federal funding, enhancing public education, improving facilities and combating declining enrollment.

The board unanimously approved the bond measure, which already included charter schools in its language. However, the parcel tax sparked a passionate debate among board members after charter school teachers, parents and students packed the meeting room to urge the board to include them in both measures.

“Our community depends on these funds,” Carlos Garcia Saldana, executive director of Odyssey Charter School in Altadena, said. “We are about 2,000 students in the charter community at Odyssey Charter School, 80% of our students reside within the Pasadena Unified jurisdiction. It is pivotal that you take the initiative to ensure the long term success of your future students.”

According to Saldana, over the last three years, 60% of his school’s graduates went on to a PUSD high school, and this number continues to grow.

Board President Kimberly Kenne proposed an amendment to include charter schools in the parcel tax measure, but it failed with only three votes in support. The seven-member board then unanimously passed the original motion, which did not include charter schools.

Board member Patrice Marshall McKenzie said the issue warrants a longer discussion and that she was not ready to accept the amendment within a short period of time.

“By definition, charters are their own local education authority, and while you might not be able to have the ability of a special district to raise a parcel tax, you do have the opportunity to raise donations,” she said. “… I’m also really, really struggling with the situational alliance with PUSD. When it’s convenient for you, you want to be PUSD kids, you want to be public school kids. And when it’s not convenient for you, you’re very happy to divest.”

Board members who wanted to include charter schools in the parcel tax provision were mainly concerned that it would fail to garner the necessary 66.67% voter support.

“What is special about the parcel tax is that it can pay for people, where bonds can’t,” Board member Tina Fredericks said. “With the nationwide staff shortage and with state cost of living adjustment at a dismal 1%, according to the recent May revision, we need the parcel to remain competitive in teacher staff salaries.”

The parcel tax can potentially restore the district’s mental health support staff and raise salaries for all of its employees, she said, adding, “our district, our staff, our students don’t have that luxury for us to make statements of principle. We need to know what will be best to serve our students today.”

The district plans to foot the election with money from its general fund. The election is estimated to cost $625,000 by itself, in addition to board member elections, PUSD’s Interim Chief Business Officer Kingsley Udo said. PUSD has reached out to the county for the actual costs, but has yet to receive it, he added.

The general obligation bond needs the approval of at least 55% of voters. If passed on Nov. 5, the measure would raise $900 million by levying taxpayers a rate of between $58.13 to $60 per $100,000 of assessed valuation with an estimated time period of more than 25 years.

The proceeds from the bond will meet “ongoing capital improvement needs of the district,” according to the PUSD resolution calling for the election. The district has put together a list of approved projects which will use the bond money.

One main project is to construct rental housing units for teachers, staff and low-income students, including all related amenities and facilities. During a March 28 meeting, the board approved a site for this project—the shuttered Roosevelt Elementary School campus, which closed in 2019 along with two other elementary schools.

The proceeds from the bond will also be used for improvements such as replacing leaky roofs, expanding Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) classrooms; upgrading Career Education labs; repairing electrical, plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning systems; constructing green facilities; as well as upgrading and installing district-wide technology.

These bond projects will benefit all users of school facilities, including charter schools, community members and other organizations, the ballot proposition of the bond measure says.

However, the bond can only be used on school facilities. It may not be used to pay for administrator or teacher salaries, nor on other school operating expenses.

The measure also requires the board to appoint a new or to resurrect an existing citizens’ oversight committee within 60 days upon its certification of the official election results, to oversee the use of the bond money.

The parcel tax requires two-thirds of voters’ approval for passage. It would impose $90 per parcel on homeowners for eight years, raising $5 million annually. People over age 65 and certain homeowners receiving Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance could be exempted from the tax.

The purpose of this tax is to expand STEAM programs; enhance career training and college readiness courses; provide competitive wages for teachers and staff, as well as hire counselors and mental health professionals, according to its resolution.

Since the parcel tax has a supermajority requirement, PUSD is not legally required to establish an oversight committee, but some districts do add them, board member Patrick Cahalan said. The board, however, decided not to add one for the parcel tax to avoid extra overhead costs.

Both measures require an annual report to be filed to the board on the proceeds received and spent every year, as well as the status of projects being funded by the bond or parcel tax.