BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
An investment in stability or an unnecessary surcharge?
Current and former board members tonight (May 18) debated an $800 parcel tax measure for the Palo Alto Unified School District.
Board member Rowena Chiu said supporting Measure B on June 2 is a symbolic way for voters to show trust in board members, who are working to make changes amid tumultuous times.
Measure B “is a moral good and a public good” that represents the community’s support for its children, Chiu said.
But former board member Ken Dauber said board members don’t build trust by asking for money the district doesn’t need.
“The parcel tax is not about signaling virtue or support for the schools. It’s a funding question,” Dauber said at the debate.
The district has over $100 million in reserves. Property taxes are going up as enrollment declines each year, former board member Todd Collins said against Measure B.
“This is the new financial reality,” Collins said. “Let’s give our neighbors a well-deserved break and let the parcel tax lapse.”
Board member Shounak Dharap said it’s better to be safe than sorry, and voters should support Measure B to account for an uncertain economic future.
“For us, the parcel tax is the only revenue stream that’s not reliant on Washington and Sacramento,” he said. “It’s not enough to say we have enough money now, because we don’t know if we’re going to have enough money in two to five years.”
Dauber said the district is already being safe with its reserves, which could cover about three months of operations and are 10 times the state requirement. The district gets most of its revenue from guaranteed property taxes, and adding $14 million per year from Measure B won’t make a difference, Dauber said.
“The district’s finances are in the best shape in living memory,” Collins said.
Dharap and Chiu agreed the district is in a strong financial position, but voters can’t assume enrollment and revenue trends will continue.
“We want to spend down the reserve, but we want to do it carefully, consciously … slowly,” Chiu said.
Dharap said future board members may consider reducing the parcel tax, and the current board already went down from $941 per year. But to pull the rug out now would be scary and financially irresponsible, he said.
“That $100 million isn’t going to me. It’s not going to Rowena,” Dharap said.
Losing the parcel tax, which is about 3% of the district’s budget, would end up affecting classrooms, Dharap said.
“Every family who moves to Palo Alto, lives in Palo Alto, wants to invest meaningfully in their kids’ education. It’s why they are here,” he said.
But Dauber said families could better spend the money themselves on things like dinner or violin lessons.
Dauber was on the school board from 2014 to 2022, and Collins was on the school board from 2016 to 2024. They said they’ve always supported school parcel taxes and bonds until this one.
The one-hour debate was moderated by former board member Terry Godfrey. Teachers’ union president Tom Culbertson, Acting Superintendent Herb Espiritu and board members Josh Salcman and Shana Segal were in the crowd at 25 Churchill Ave.
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