by Mark McDermott
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Education has begun the process that will likely result in a ballot measure extending or possibly increasing the current $225 parcel tax local property owners pay in support of local schools.
The existing parcel tax generates $2.5 million annually. It was approved by voters as Measure MB in 2018 and expires June 30, 2024. At its March 14 meeting, the school board both received an interim budget report that showed a projected $6 million deficit by 2025, what Deputy Superintendent Dawnalyn Murakawa-Leopard has previously described as a “fiscal cliff.” This is due to a number of factors, including chronic underfunding due to the state’s flawed education funding formula, increased salary costs, and the approaching end of MBUSD’s mutual use facilities agreement with the City of Manhattan Beach.
But the possible absence of parcel tax revenue is a big part of the projected deficit, and along with a renegotiated agreement with the City, represents something MBUSD is able to act upon. The board’s discussion at its March 14, which included a presentation from strategy and polling consultant Charles Heath, centered around preparing a ballot measure for the March 2024 statewide primary election.
“There is a lot of other stuff that will be on that ballot,” Heath said. “That means that you are sharing that election cost with all those other jurisdictions that are conducting elections, and that brings down the cost substantially.”
But the lion’s share of the discussion was the amount the proposed parcel tax should seek. Measure MB received 69 percent support from local voters, or three percentage points more than the two-thirds approval required by state law to impose a tax. But also looming over this aspect of the parcel tax is last year’s unsuccessful Measure A, a citizens’ initiative that sought to impose a $1095 annual parcel tax and was resoundingly rejected by voters. Over 68 percent voted against it.
Heath noted that polling conducted in 2020 revealed tepid support for an $1125 parcel tax — with 51 percent of those polled supporting such a tax, a number that rose to 56 percent when more information was provided. In 2018 polling, 65 percent of residents supported $225, when given information about the district’s needs. The most recent polling, in November 2021, showed 69 percent support for a $225 parcel tax that included an annual cost of living increase.
Heath laid out six options, ranging from a measure that both extended the existing parcel tax and levied an additional $225 plus COLA, which would generate $5.8 million annually, to simply extending the current tax as is.
“The last option here admittedly is the most conservative, but I also think it’s something that we should have on the table,” he said. “You know, pretty quickly here you’re going to be out of time with Measure MB…and the worst scenario is Measure MB just goes away.”
Board president Cathey Graves said that polling data is been crucial to finding the right number.
“I appreciate the history, because I think it’s very clear when we follow the polling we are successful,” she said. “Our constituency has told us that we need to listen to them, and so I think it’s critical in evaluating the amount that we want to go out for. I think, in my conversations with a lot of folks in the community, they support it, they understand the need for it, but they want it to be the right amount.”
Graves also said that an important element will be the establishment of a citizens’ committee to advocate for the parcel tax, which the district is required to do. State law forbids the use of district financial resources in political campaigning.
“The polling is the first step of this and is going to be critical, as well as creating a committee that is a consensus — people that opposed Measure A, people that supported Measure A — and build a consensus to try to come up with the right amount,” Graves said.
Councilperson Joe Franklin, who led the opposition to Measure A, said in an interview subsequent to the meeting that he reached out to both Graves and Superintendent John Bowes about helping the district in the effort.
“No formal role for me has been discussed,” Franklin said. “I’m happy to help any way I can.”
The deadline for a ballot submission to be eligible for next March is December 8. Board members unanimously supported moving forward with this goal in mind.
“We saw during the interim budget report — this is something that I personally believe we need to do,” said trustee Jen Fenton. “I think it’s something we need to move forward with, so I am in favor of it. There’s so much uncertainty in the budget. If we can have that stable, local revenue stream and continue it, whether it’s six years or in perpetuity, we’d be foolish not to invest the time and some of our resources into getting that done.”
Trustee Bruce Greenberg said that community engagement will be key to the measure’s success.
“We saw what happened with last year’s measure,” he said. “There’s a lot of divisiveness within the community. We have to bridge that gap. We have to figure this out together, what the community will get behind, and what will work.” ER
