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Ballots for the special election on May 7 hit San Ramon Valley mailboxes earlier this month. At issue are two parcel tax measures that would provide funding for San Ramon Valley Unified School District.
Measure E is a $144-per-parcel annual tax that would generate approximately $6.8 million annually.
Although called a renewal of a parcel tax, there is one important wording change in the current Measure E text. In the previous three iterations, there was a reference to an “annual audit.” This version says “annual adjustment,” meaning it will increase over the nine-year period it is being proposed for.
There might be a need for this because what the $144-per-parcel paid for 20 years ago is vastly different. But the increase was disguised by changing one word and the annual increase was not specifically communicated to voters, which I consider a lie of omission.
Since it will no longer be $144-per-parcel eight of the nine years it will be in effect, calling it a renewal is disingenuous.
Measure F would establish a new $98 parcel tax annually, estimated to generate roughly $4.6 million annually for nine years. This is on the ballot because one-time state and federal funding provided to districts recovering from the pandemic shutdowns is coming to an end.
But I’m not supporting these parcel taxes because of deceptive practices like the wording of Measure E and the systemic, consistent lack of transparency from SRVUSD.
As a district resident and parent, SRVUSD has lost my trust and I am far from alone.
Spending $1.4 million for a special election raises eyebrows when asking for money. And special elections are, for lack of a better term, sneaky.
Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations Stella Kemp said special elections, which were also held for parcel taxes in 2004, 2009 and 2015, are done “because we don’t want the water to be muddied by the other local politics or national or state initiatives that are on the ballot at that time.”
She said it’s also because there is time before the tax expires for another attempt if the measure doesn’t pass.
Perhaps, but not only is a special election more expensive than putting measures on a primary or general election ballot, special elections historically have low voter turnout. In other words, special elections are a way to surreptitiously slip in a tax measure when most people aren’t thinking about voting while rallying the supporters to vote in favor.
I am also not convinced funds are being spent wisely.
During the Jan. 30 meeting, Board Vice President Shelly Clark said, “I can assure you that not one dime of our funding is wasted or that we don’t need it.”
“Not one dime” is wasted is debatable.
Many consider spending $1.8 million to hire “equity liaisons” wasting money. The “need” was prompted by a scandal in which innocent children, members of the California High School cheer squad, were condemned by Superintendent John Malloy, his cabinet and the board as racists, even though the facts proved otherwise.
According to Malloy, these facts were known to him and the others, but he still jeopardized the girls’ physical and emotional well-being by apologizing for them instead of making the truth known.
(Kudos to the district, though, for changing the duties of the liaisons. These individuals now “support instruction by helping review student performance, coach teachers and develop programs for students who are struggling” in the elementary schools, according to Kemp.)
Honest communication and transparency are crucial to building trust.
However, the redefining of the district’s communication policy to allow only “media coverage that supports the District’s reputation and image” shortly after Malloy arrived and the staff and board’s avoidance of putting anything in writing have eroded transparency.
Couple lack of transparency with how the accusation of racism against the Cal High cheer squad was affirmed even though it was untrue, and accusations of sexual abuse by a teacher proved true but were ignored, and this district has lost the trust of many community members.
Unfortunately, Measures E and F reflect the district’s untrustworthy nature and voters should reject them.
Editor’s note: Gina Channell Wilcox has been the president and publisher of Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division since 2006. Her “Around the Valley” column is a recurring feature in the Pleasanton Weekly, Livermore Vine and DanvilleSanRamon.com.