San Diego Unified Parent- Life At School

Nope.  

A parcel tax is a special tax levied on property owners for funding special projects.  In San Diego county, there is much discussion of a parcel tax for our schools.  If you read this article, you’ll see the teacher’s union and the school board are not getting along on this subject. 

Some background:  Years ago, Proposition MM was passed by the voters to fund capital improvement in our schools.  These improvements were only for repair and expansion- not for funding staff.  MM was great for the district, and brought many positive changes.  It was not without it’s flaws- many libraries were built without librarians, but on the whole, schools saw many needed improvements.

Bond measures are temporary things- by voting for them, taxpayers agree to pay a little extra for a set period of time.  In the case of MM, the term was 10 years.  This year, we taxpayers will stop paying for prop MM.  But our schools still badly need capital improvements- some are tired, run-down and too small.  Our family’s school, Grant Math+Science Magnet, is practically a blight on the neighborhood.

The district is currently considering a new bond- let’s call it LL just for fun.  LL would do the same things MM did, and could be pitched to the taxpayers on the basis of “no new taxes”- that is, you’ll pay tax rates similar to last year’s.  

Here’s where the fun begins-

It’s my understanding, based on last week’s car wash and the prevailing winds that blow easterly across the Normal Street compound and across Washington, that the teacher’s union saw LL as a fantastic opportunity. Not that LL could provide more money for teachers, but that it provided a fulcrum with which the union could leverage the board.  

Simply put, if the board did not promote the parcel tax idea, the teacher’s union would come out against the bond proposal.

Yes, that means the teacher’s union is happy to put the welfare of our children second to their political power and influence agenda.  I don’t hold it against them- they have a job to do, and that job is to further their agenda at whatever cost.

Now the union is mad, and the recriminations are flying.  The teacher’s union is once again pressing for a new contract, but they know without a parcel tax they’re going to be chasing unlined pockets.

I don’t bemoan the loss of a parcel tax, our family pays plenty of taxes, thanks.  And I’m certainly unwilling to support a teacher’s union (teachers, yes! union, no) whose thuggish tactics denigrate the profession.

I’m both happy to vote for a bond measure, and happy to support merit-based teacher pay raises.