Committee Makes Last Push for Parcel Tax

Though it won’t receive the same media attention as the November elections, but for school district supporters, the June 5 election is a momentous one. In an effort to pass Measure W, for the , the committee is organizing a phone bank today.

In the last nine years, the parcel tax committee has tried three times, unsuccessfully, to pass a parcel tax to generate additional funds for the Redwood City School District.

This time, the committee has organized hundreds of volunteers to spread the word about the necessity of an annual $67 tax for the next five years that would raise $1.7 million for reading, writing and math programs, school libraries and other uses. Measure W requires two-thirds voter approval to pass.

“Everywhere I drive, I see ‘Yes on Measure W’ lawn signs in all different neighborhoods,” said school board member Alisa MacAvoy of the 750 signs.

The Redwood City School District is the only district in the area that does not have an additional parcel tax. It is the only revenue limit district, meaning it relies on state funds in addition to property taxes, thats feed into the The others are all basic aid districts, which generate enough revenue from property taxes, and then some, to meet the state’s designated per pupil amount. Over these students’ K-8 careers, each student in neighboring districts will have approximately $90,000 more spent on them before they meet up in high school.

Unlike many taxes, every dollar of this local tax would stay within the school district and not to a larger pot that could funnel the tax dollars to other causes.

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