EXCERPT: CCTimes says no to WCCUSD parcel tax

Excerpted from:
"Contra Costa Times editorial: Two school districts asking for too much from property owners"
04/19/2012
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_20436234/contra-costa-times-editorial-two-school-districts-asking

West Contra Costa: This district has gone to the tax well too many times.

District leaders brag that their massive school construction program enjoys widespread voter support. But for each of five bond measures put to voters, the ballot analysis referred only to the immediate proposal, hiding previously approved costs.

The district also underestimated the tax rate needed to pay off the bonds. Property owners soon will pay about $250 a year for every $100,000 of assessed value, one of the highest school bond tax rates in the state.

Meanwhile, the district collects two parcel taxes for ongoing expenditures. One is a flat $72 per parcel, the other 7.2 cents per square foot.

In 2010, the district unsuccessfully sought to double the 7.2-cent rate. In 2011, the district and Richmond officials asked voters in that city for a hefty sales tax increase, with half the money going to education. Voters rejected that.

Now Measure K asks district voters to increase the 7.2-cent rate on the second parcel tax to 10.2 cents and extend the sunset date from 2014 to 2017.

For the owner of a district-average 1,367-square-foot home with an assessed value of $215,125, total annual school taxes would increase from $708 to $749. The bill would be more for larger homes and those with greater assessed value.

That's not fair to property owners in some of the Bay Area's poorest communities.