Local News in Brief : School Tax Election Tabled

The Palos Verdes Peninsula school board, citing uncertainties about the future of Miraleste High School and a lack of community consensus, has decided that the time is not ripe for a special election on a proposal to impose a $200 parcel tax.

The idea is not dead, however, with some trustees noting that they have until early November to decide whether to place the issue on the ballot in March.

The proposal, offered by east-side residents concerned about the future of Miraleste High School, is to raise about $4 million annually by assessing $200 against each parcel of property on the peninsula.

A petition signed by about 1,800 east-side residents called for using the money to keep Miraleste open indefinitely, and to raise teacher salaries and add class programs. The board decided a year ago to close the under-enrolled campus, but that move has been forestalled by lawsuits.

A board majority, in a meeting Monday night, at first voted to go along with the tax proposal on the condition that the sponsors would pay the estimated $50,000 cost of an election. But after further exchanges with the audience, the trustees voted unanimously to table the matter.

District spokeswoman Nancy Mahr said prospects for a successful parcel tax election are clouded by uncertainties over Miraleste’s future and the extent of community support for the measure.

Miraleste boosters said the additional income would remove the major uncertainties, which are mainly rooted in the district’s financial problems.