BY DANIEL SCHRAGER
Daily Post Staff Writer
A former Palo Alto school board member says the school district’s $905 parcel tax might no longer be needed, as the current board targets June 2026 for a ballot measure to renew the tax.
Todd Collins, who was on the board from 2016 to 2024, urged the board to “take a hard look at the parcel tax” during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting, amid declining enrollment numbers and increasing funding from property tax revenue. The district’s spending on each student has doubled in the past decade as a result of that trend, Collins said.
“Ten years ago, we thought we were already pretty well funded,” Collins said. “If you’d told in just 10 years we’d have more than double what he had then, we’d have been shocked and delighted.” Collins suggested the board look at reducing the tax or gradually phasing it out.
The tax brings in around $16.5 million a year for the school dis-trict. A survey of 504 Palo Alto residents conducted by True North Research found that around 73% of residents support renewing it. A school parcel tax needs two-thirds of the vote to pass.
“These are very positive numbers,” Charles Heath, a consultant on the project, said at the meeting. “We don’t always see that for two-thirds tax measures you start comfortably above the passage threshold.”
The board is currently looking at its options for renewing the tax, which expires at the end of the next school year. Several board members expressed support for renewing it for seven years, starting at $941 and increasing by 2% each year.
But board member Josh Salman raised the option of a tax that was shorter in length. Voters could reassess the need for the tax in a few years based on the school district’s financial situation at the time, Salman said.
“Do you at some point reach a level… where you’re spending a significantly larger sum of money per (person)?” Salman asked.
Board member Alison Kamhi said she was interested in the idea but stopped short of endorsing it.
Others on the board were more skeptical. Board President Shana Segal said shortening the term of the tax would “would introduce significant risk without clear benefit.”
Segal worried a short-term tax would get in the way of schools’ ability to plan into the future.
Board member Rowena Chiu said a short-term tax would give the district more uncertainty about its budget, not less.
The parcel tax, which landowners pay at a flat rate for each lot they own. accounts for around 5% of the school district’s budget.
If it isn’t renewed, the district’s revenue could fall from $348.8 million over the 2026-27 school year to $337.8 million the following year, according to a report from Chief Business Offer Charen Yu. Yu said the district would have to cut 79 jobs if that happens.
What Collins is saying makes sense. We have fewer students, therefore less need for teachers and staff. Property tax revenues are increasing. Some of the board members are behaving like gluttons.
What’s the world coming to, someone who doesn’t see Palo Alto residents as cash cows.
Maybe he could start paying attention to CPAU’s constant rate hikes, with gas and water expected to rise by 15% and 75% respectively by 2031
Todd Collins for City Council
Instead of cutting teachers because enrollment is down, it would be great if class sizes would be smaller. That would mean there would be more teachers needed, but if we have more money available because of declining enrollment, lower class size would be a good option. When my kids were in PAUSD, that was always the goal – lower class size – never achieved, but maybe possible now.