Parcel Tax 2011 (Measure A) FAQ

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Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the District’s Financial Crisis

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Structure of Measure A

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the District’s Financial Crisis

 

Q.    How did this fiscal crisis get this bad?  Why didn’t the District plan better for the loss of revenue?

A.    Like every public school district in the state, AUSD receives the majority of its revenues from the State of California.  Over the past two years, the State has made unprecedented cuts in the funds it provides to schools.  Other than generating funds via a parcel tax, the district cannot increase its revenues under such circumstances.  
Even though the district has managed its budget aggressively in the face of cuts over the last two years (including making $7 million in cuts for the current school year, which include pay cuts for every employee through furloughs, reductions in programs and services and layoffs), the reduction in state funding to the district has been so steep that the only way to balance the budget without a new parcel tax is move ahead with even deeper cuts to programs, services and other operating expenses.

Q.    What is the total amount AUSD needs in additional funding to avoid ALL cuts, consolidations, class-size changes, program eliminations, etc?  If cuts are still required after a new parcel tax, how quickly will those cuts take place and will there be additional options for parent/community input on prioritization after March 2011?

A.    $19 million in additional funding would help minimize cuts--$7 million has been cut already, and the district is now projecting a cut of $12 million in the next two years.  It is important to remember that state funding rules are in flux, making it hard to predict budget requirements from year to year. For example, the Governor’s current budget proposal for K-12 education will largely depend upon voter approval of state funding initiatives in June 2011.

 

Q.    Some vocal opponents of the parcel tax have said that AUSD’s administration and expenses are “bloated”?  How does AUSD compare to other District’s?

A.    The claim that AUSD’s administrative structure is bloated is not true.  The district office has made enormous cuts to its administrative budget over the years, including a reduction of $300,000 last year.  These dramatic reductions affect the quality of operations and the district office’s ability to deliver services to the school sites.  Although the amount of work required to operate schools and the district office has remained the same, the district is operating with fewer people and fewer resources than even before.
AUSD has one of the lowest administrator to student ratios in the county when compared with other East Bay school districts (1:385).  In terms of compensation, the salary of the District’s 13 school principals is 10% below the county average, its teachers are 5% below the county average and the Superintendent’s compensation is 12% below the county average. AUSD employees make far less than their peers in neighboring districts.
Recently, the Center for American Progress rated AUSD as a highly productive school district.  Using a variety of measurements, the report finds that AUSD is highly productive and that citizens receive an excellent return on their educational investment in Alameda’s schools.   You can view the Center’s data and full report here: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/01/educational_productivity/.

 

Q.   If we pass a parcel tax, does the state take those funds into account when they determine the ADA (funds given to AUSD per student) and reduce the level of payments to us?

A.   No.  The state cannot take local funding via a parcel tax into account when determining ADA.

 

Q.   Can you please explain why there is such a large disparity on state and federal funding per student between the Oakland and Alameda school systems?  Further, what do we have to do to get our fair share of funding per student?

A.    The disparity in ADA between Oakland and Alameda is not as large as it might appear. The Oakland school district receives additional funds due to its larger number of Title 1 schools and ESL (English Second Language) students which increases the amount of categorical funds the district receives, but not the ADA (Average Daily Attendance) funding itself.  Alameda now receives $4967 per student plus $275 of one-time funds borrowed from 2011-2012 school year funding.
Alameda has helped forward an historic lawsuit (Robles-Wong vs. the State of California) to address the inequities and inadequacies of the current system of state funding for public education.  This is a lengthy process and certainly will not resolve our short term financial needs.  By placing Measure A on the ballot, the Board of Education has taken steps to secure local funding.  Measure A is a short term solution until there is ongoing economic recovery in our state and a realistic potential for increased funding.

 

Q.    What is happening with the ARRA funds the district was given to reduce layoff of  teachers?

A.     The district has approximately $1.5 million built into the 2011-12 budget to possibly reduce furlough days for school site employees, but the exact details will need to be addressed through negotiations with AUSD bargaining units.

 

Q.    Can families “opt in“ to pay more than the amount of parcel tax?  

A.     Donations are always welcome and appreciated.  However, the District can’t use donations in budget planning as the County of Alameda, which oversees the District’s budget, will not accept projected donations when there is no certainty that the money will actually be donated. Although donations are considered one-time monies, if a sizable amount were to be collected in one year, it could be allocated over multiple years and thus be considered as a revenue stream over several years.

 

Q.    Why didn’t AUSD ask for more money in the Parcel Tax to cover all the needs?

A.    Measure A is a compromise to meet the interests of as many Alameda stakeholders as possible. The Board considered input from numerous community representatives and approved a parcel tax that the community as a whole can support. While some suggested asking for $18 million in the Parcel Tax, others suggested asking for $6 million. Ultimately, the Board approved a measure that would meet the needs of the community as voiced by numerous representatives.

 

Q.    Will the district make cuts even if the Parcel Tax passes?

A.    Because of the ongoing economic uncertainties at the state level, AUSD will likely need to may need to make additional cuts even with a parcel tax.  These cuts may include going to a 6-period day instead of a 7-period day in the middle schools, lowering graduation requirements over time from 230 credits to 220 or 210 credits, and continued efforts to more efficiently staff high school classes at a 35:1 student-to-teacher ratio.

 

Q.   Why doesn’t the District reform its pensions to save money?

A.   Unlike many public agencies, pension contributions by public school districts are statutory and set at the state level. It is not legally permissible for the District to negotiate or impose pension reforms on its employees at the local level.

 

Q.   Why didn’t the District reduce salaries to save money?

A.   The District has negotiated salary reductions with all its bargaining groups by negotiating eight furlough days for all of its represented employees in the District. In addition, the District enacted salary reductions through furlough for every member of management, including the Superintendent who voluntarily reduced her annual salary by eight days. These reductions resulted in a savings of $2.5 million for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

Even before the district implemented pay reductions due to furloughs, AUSD teachers were paid 5% less than the county average and AUSD administrators were paid 10% less than the county average.

 

Q.    Why doesn’t the District increase its fundraising efforts to address the fiscal crisis?

A.    The District is continuing to pursue funding from every possible source, public and private. We recognize and appreciate that parent and community member regularly give generously to our schools. Because the district must provide the County a three year budget, however, the district cannot rely on donations to fund on-going programs. As the entity responsible for overseeing the district’s financial condition, the County requires the district to plan and submit a multi-year budget using funds from stable revenue sources.

 

Parcel Tax Q&A Related to the Parcel Tax Structure

Q.    How will parcel tax funds be spent?   

A.    The language of the parcel tax designates percentages of tax revenue for specific purposes. Each of these percentages are set out in clear language within the text of the measure.  You can view the full text of Measure A here.
The Measure also allows for the possibility that these percentages may change if the state continues to decrease the district’s funding or if it changes the rules of the funding.  Although the designation of funds may need to be changed based on fiscal conditions we can’t predict at this time, any change must be reviewed by the oversight committee and approved by the Board of Education.

 

Q.    If the Parcel Tax passes, will the school year return to 180 days?  Will employees still be furloughed?

A.    Yes, the school year will return to 180 days.  Employees will not be furloughed.

 

Q.     How is the District getting input and support from Alameda businesses so that the parcel tax won’t be opposed by the business community?

A.     Throughout the summer and fall, Board of Education President Mooney and Superintendent Vital held many outreach meetings with the business community.  Their meetings included the Chamber of Commerce, business associations, as well as many other community stakeholders and individuals, all in order to receive input on the best structure for a possible new parcel tax. The meetings ensured all business groups and community member had an opportunity to share their view on how to reach a compromise to create a parcel tax that is structured as equitably as possible.  Several business groups have endorsed the parcel tax and have expressed vocal support of Alameda’s schools.

 

Q.    Why is there a maximum amount (cap) of tax?

A.    The Board received comments and testimony from all segments of the Alameda  community, including small businesses who almost uniformly stated that a maximum  amount per parcel was needed to protect their investment and local jobs. One local  businessman, for example, told the Board that he would be forced to lay off employees  and may even be forced out of business if there were no maximum amount per parcel.   

After considering all of the community input, the Board discussed a range of maximum  amounts and unanimously settled on a maximum of $7,999 to reach the fairest possible compromise.

 

Q.    I have heard that the District has “secret” parcel data that it has used to formulate the tax, is this true?

A.    No, the District does not have any secret parcel data.

The District contracts with a company to generate the tax roll and to administer the current parcel taxes (Measures A and H) in accordance with the terms of the Measures and direction from the Board of Education.  In the event Measure A passes, the company, SCI, will prepare a tax levy using the County of Alameda Assessor’s Lien Roll as of July 1, 2011.  This lien roll data is available from the County of Alameda and Parcel Quest (http://www.parcelquest.com).  The County of Alameda and the City of Alameda have online parcel databases as well.  In short, the data is not secret and is publicly available from the City and County of Alameda.

In preparing to put Measure A on the ballot, the District asked SCI to run different tax scenarios to determine both the amount of the proposed tax and the revenue it would generate.  These scenarios were shared with the community in a series of public meetings last fall.  To create these various scenarios, SCI uses a database purchased from Parcel Quest.  Parcel Quest has agreements with several counties in the State to provide lien roll data, other real estate data and maps.  In fact, many County Assessors will refer individuals requesting lien roll data to Parcel Quest as the County’s provider.  To be clear, Parcel Quest does not change the lien roll data provided by County Assessors.  Rather, they reformat the data in their standard format and make it available online.  The formatted data provided by Parcel Quest is proprietary.  Purchasers of the database, such as SCI, sign a license agreement which strictly prohibits the sharing or publishing of their data.  Members of the public interested in viewing the data in the Parcel Quest format may contact Parcel Quest and purchase the information.  Alternatively, as explained above, the same data is viewable in a different format on the City of Alameda's website.

 

Q.    What is the basis of the tax?

A.    The tax is based on the square footage of the building(s) on each parcel in Alameda. There is no perfect structure for a parcel tax, but community members expressed support for a tax based on building square footage because it seemed the most fair of all  available (and legal) options.

 

Q.    How can I learn what I will be charged under Measure A?
 
A.    The tax will be based on the building square footage as recorded in the County records.   Measure A states:  “In determining the building square footage of Taxable Real  Property, the District shall refer to the data reported by the County Assessor’s Office,  except in cases of demonstrable error, in which case either the property owner may  file a claim with the District for re-computation of the tax or the District will re- compute the tax and provide notice to the owner of the re-computation and the right  to appeal in accordance with the procedures established by the District.” (Emphasis  added.)

 

Q.    Why do Charter Schools receive less funding than other AUSD programs?

A.    While charter schools are public schools, their funding and operation is very different than our District schools.  In recognition of the fact that some Alameda students attend charter schools, AUSD has taken a collaborative approach with charter schools to include them in funding from Measure A.  Charter schools receive more funding per student from the State and are not required to pay the entire cost of their facilities.  In addition, by legislative design, charters are given more flexibility in operating their schools which in turn allows more charters to spend more money on instruction rather than compliance with state rules and regulations.  In view of these fiscal realities, Measure A apportions a smaller percentage to charter schools than some of the programs which will be supported parcel tax funds.