SAC MIN 1991-04-10 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Dr. Crates explained that the reason for the inequity went back to 1971-72 when the school district received money through the levying of property taxes and that the rax rate in Redwood City was lower at that time. Because of different law suits brought against the State, a benchmark was established. Although Redwood City is within the State average, it is still well below students in the Bay Area. Three years ago an attempt was made to try and correct this problem through legislative channels but the matter did not come out of committee. Dr. Crates feels that the only way to try to correct this problem is to take it to the Community and to educate them on the need to raise revenue limits. Dr. Crates said that 60-67% of the 8,000 students in the district receive lunch through their lunch program, which means they are at or below poverty levels. Because of the deficit, class size will be increased to its highest level next year and services will be cut. He also mentioned that 2-3 different languages are used in classrooms due to the diverse cultures of their students. Dr. Crates said that if Redwood City Schools received the average dollar amount of funds for schools feeding into Sequoia High School District, the district would receive an additional $462.00 more per student and could eliminate the need to make such drastic cuts which are unfair to the children. Dr. Crates said that the only alternative to solve this problem seems to be raising taxes by a vote of the public. The district is looking at a parcel tax which would be placed on land owned and a flat fee to be assessed regardless of the value of the land. Another idea would be levying a tax on the square footage of land owned. He mentioned that the average size of land owned in Redwood City was 8,000 square feet, and that if a figure of .01c per square foot was assessed, the homeowner would pay $80.00. Industry would pay .015c per square foot. Dr. Crates felt that the whole community suffers when the quality of education decreases. City Manager Jim Smith pointed out that the government deals with the back-end of the problem by spending money on jails, police and other types of social programs. Commissioner Anthony said he felt the Commission needed to get all facets of the community working together to resolve this problem but was very concerned about seniors who are not able to afford this tax assessment due to limited income. Dr. Crates asked the Commission for their ideas on how the school district could communicate this problem to the Senior population. He mentioned that the County is considering imposing a 1/2c sales tax in order to fund extending the school year from 180 days to 210. It is estimated this sales tax would generate $35-40 million county wide. Dr. Crates said that currently the school district receives so many applications for students wanting to attend summer school , many children are denied access. He explained that the District would consider putting its tax increase on the November ballot depending on whether or not the County decides to put its proposal on at that time. Dr. Crates also mentioned that all Redwood City schools are over 30 years old and require substantial amounts of money to maintain. Commissioner Metzdorf inquired about the funds the District receives from the Lottery and Dr. Crates explained that they receive $130.00 per student which helps out the District but represents only 3% of the annual budget.