Early returns tonight indicate that the Palo Alto school district’s parcel tax will fail. A parcel tax needs two-thirds of the vote for approval. The initial vote for Measure B is:
Yes 5,943 — 60.73%
No 3,843 — 39.27%
The tax would have cost $800 a year and raise $14.5 million. However, opponents — including former school board members Todd Collins and Ken Dauber — argued that regular property taxes have increased over the years, providing the additional funds that a parcel tax would have provided, making the tax unnecessary.
The district has $100 million in reserves.
The teachers union supported Measure B. The union is negotiating for bigger paychecks.
Palo Alto voters are typically generous with school parcel tax and bond measure votes. The last time voters rejected a Palo Alto schools parcel tax was in 2004. However, supporters successfully regrouped and convinced voters to pass a modified measure in June 2005.
Oh no, the teachers won’t get those big raise after all?!