The LAUSD Tried to Secure a Source of Funding and All It Got Was a Bill for $12.5 Million
Proper planning for ballot initiatives like this takes months and years, not weeks…Nor has the district done at this time the preparation necessary to run a successful campaign so the taxpayers would support it…I believe a better option is to properly plan to do this by 2020 when we can be successful.”
– Austin Beutner, July 10, 2018
Last July, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board Members Scott Schmerlson and George McKenna proposed adding a parcel tax to the November 2018 ballot. After initially indicating that he would support the measure, LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner came out against the parcel tax at the July 10, 2018, board meeting. Beutner admitted that the tax was needed, but said that the timeline of four and a half months was too short in order to get the measure passed by the voters. He also pointed out that the $5 million price tag for holding the election would put a strain on the budget. His suggestion for the district to wait until the 2020 election cycle was backed by the votes of Board Members Monica Garica, Nick Melvoin and Ref Rodriguez, sending the proposal to its defeat. The parcel tax was dead.
Or so we thought.
Suddenly, last February the parcel tax returned. With just a couple of days notice it returned to the board’s agenda as a proposal for the CONTINUE READING: The LAUSD Tried to Secure a Source of Funding and All It Got Was a Bill for $12.5 Million