Palos Verdes Peninsula parcel tax measure narrowly passes

With all precincts reporting, Measure M had approval from 68.5 percent of voters. It needed a two-thirds majority to pass.

Supporters said the $374 annual parcel tax – set to continue indefinitely – is necessary for the high-achieving Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District to counteract state cuts to education funding.

Julie Trell, co-chairwoman of Keep Our PVP Schools Strong, said she felt the pro-M campaign was helped by a get-out-the-vote push asking parents to go to the polls on Election Day.

The tax, which provides an exemption for senior citizens, amounts to the exact same dollar figure that property owners are paying now for two parcel taxes, at $165 and $209 per year. Both are set to expire in 2013.

The measure provoked controversy – and opposition from some vocal critics who have supported district taxes in the past – because of its lack of a sunset date.

Trell said that element was one of the advantages of Measure M because it means the district won’t have to keep asking voters for tax extensions. And an army of volunteers won’t have to mobilize every few years in support of the district.

“It’s secure funding. … We don’t have to go back every time. It’s just such a huge effort, and to not have to do that is such a huge relief,” said Trell, who co-chaired the campaign with district mother Kim Rutledge.

Critics said that without an expiration date, the measure will install a permanent tax on Peninsula property owners. They additionally didn’t like the fact that the measure will allow the school board to add an annual increase to account for inflation.

Supporters of Measure M responded that the school board will have to vote each year on continuing the tax at a public hearing where residents can protest. And voters can bring an initiative to overturn the tax.

Since 2000, Peninsula voters have funded three school district construction bond measures and three parcel taxes.

A 2009 parcel tax extension garnered a fairly close 68.9 percent of the vote, down from previous elections but slightly above Tuesday’s result.

District officials had said that without Measure M, schools would see “devastating cuts,” including 130 layoffs and funding reductions to athletic programs, counseling and academic intervention initiatives. Class sizes would have increased.

The existing parcel taxes bring in about $7 million each year, funding regular operations in the district’s $90 million budget.