In an effort to save jobs and soften the impact of budget cuts to classrooms, Los Angeles Unified officials Tuesday approved placing a new $100 parcel tax on the June ballot.
The limited tax would generate $92.5 million per year for four years, to help the district whittle down a deficit estimated at $640 million next year.Taxpayer advocates blasted the idea of asking homeowners, already suffering during the financial downturn, to bail out the district. But school board members said it was a necessity.
"We ask because it is an emergency," said board member Steve Zimmer. "This is a time when we all must come together as a city. We are asking Los Angeles not to tax itself, but to invest in its future."
School board member Tamar Galatzan, the lone dissenter in the 5-1 vote, said she feels the district needs to slash spending first and then ask community members for more money if they feel the cuts went too far.
"Our responsibility is to make these cuts and these changes, many of which we've known we've had to do for a long time and have put off," she said.
"If at that point, the community says that they want these things back, then that is the time to put a parcel tax on the ballot."
District officials said if approved, the new tax will limit class size increases, reduce teacher layoffs and maintain
