In November 2020, Los Gatos voters rejected a 7-year $164/year parcel tax, ‘Measure N’, proposed by the Loma Prieta Joint Union School District (LPJUSD) Board of Education.
Two years later the board is spending taxpayers’ money from the already constrained school budget in a futile attempt to revive a rejected parcel tax measure. Now they are upping the ante, proposing a $348/year on each parcel for… eight years!
School revenue is growing at a historic level due to increased tax collection from property taxes and existing parcel taxes. This is happening as student headcount has been decreasing year over year. LPJUSD has a management problem, not a funding problem.
Vote NO on Measure M by November 8th, 2022, to send a strong message that our Los Gatos school district needs to be fiscally responsible and prioritize student interests above all.
A parcel tax is a form of real estate tax. Unlike most real estate taxes or land value taxes, it is not directly based on property value. California parcel taxes, as a flat tax, are regressive.
Due to the statutory uniformity requirements for most local government parcel taxes, tax fairness issues arise. Flat parcel taxes are regressive because they require owners of smaller or lower valued property to pay the same total amount as owners of larger or higher valued properties.
Absolutely not. LPJUSD’s revenue has been rising thanks to our property tax dollars. The problem isn’t revenue, it is fiscal mismanagement. (Source: Loma Prieta Joint Union School District)
Yes, in 1996 Measure D was approved for a $150 per parcel tax, with no expiration date. Parcel taxes with NO expiration dates are very uncommon.
YES. It was rejected by the Los Gatos voters in November of 2020.
Yes, we are! And likely more than most expect — it is the single largest allocation of your property tax. Loma Prieta Joint Union School District is fortunate enough to be in an enviable position of being under the Local Control Funding Formula. This means LPJUSD collects far more in taxes than the state funding threshold. In addition to property taxes, we do pay one existing parcel tax and two bond measures.
Absolutely. Have a look at a sample Los Gatos local property tax bill.
Not really. The LPJUSD board says that none of the funds will be used for administration. However this is deceptive as funds generated separately from this parcel tax can be used for administration expenses, without limits. Essentially this is an empty promise.
Example – The Superintendent position compensation at LPJUSD from 2013-2020 increased by approximately 52% ($85,781 increase) in the same period that an existing parcel tax was generating about $330k a year exclusively for teachers.
No, school enrollment has been consistently declining and is projected to continue declining in the upcoming years. As our revenue increases, and our student headcount decreases, the school has far more money to spend per student. Again, we do not have a funding problem, we have a management problem. (Source: Loma Prieta Joint Union School District)
LPJUSD board will have to finally address the structural problems at the Los Gatos district and match the revenue to expenses. Existing district revenue based on the Local Funding formula (property tax money) and existing parcel taxes enables a fiscally sound, responsible budget. There is no need for this ongoing roller coaster budget crisis.
By all means! You can make a tax-deductible donation directly to the school. LPJUSD
$348 per year for eight years ($2784.00), on average about 10% for Santa Cruz tax payers. https://www.tax-rates.org/california/santa_cruz_county_property_tax
The majority of the Loma Prieta Union school residents and students (over 80%) live in Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz County has 10 school districts. Compared to Santa Cruz County school districts, the Loma Prieta Union average certified teacher salary ranks as the first or second top paying district.
Source data: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/fd/cs/