Ojai School District Seeks Additional Tax

By Catherine Saillant

March 4, 2005 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Faced with chronic budget problems, Ojai’s public school leaders are asking voters to approve on Tuesday a $150-per-parcel tax to help the school district maintain programs that would otherwise be cut.

The tax would raise about $1.4 million a year and continue for five years, enough time for Ojai Unified School District administrators to come up with long-term solutions to money problems, said Supt. Timothy Baird.

Additional dollars would mean the difference between maintaining high-quality schools that offer music, art and after-school programs and a more bare-bones education, Baird said. A two-thirds vote is needed to pass the tax.

“Good schools are good for communities,” he said. “That’s the bottom line. If you have quality schools, home values improve.”

But opponents say the tax would fall hardest on those least able to afford it. The district should instead cut operating costs to meet new fiscal realities, critics said.

“Every parcel will be levied $150 per year,” said Wendy Larner, a longtime resident and former county school board member. “That means you have to pay $150 whether you are on a fixed income or live in a mansion.”

Opponents also said the tax would be unfair to those rural property owners whose homes are built on multiple parcels. Karen Beasley and her husband, who live among the ranches and farms of the Upper Ojai, would see an $1,800 annual increase in property taxes, or $9,000 over the five-year life of the levy, on their 12 parcels.

“I feel for them,” Beasley said of the district’s budget managers. “But I don’t really feel I should have to pay $9,000 ... to help them solve their problems.”

Ojai’s schools have seen state funding slashed in recent years as Sacramento deals with its own budget crunch. Meanwhile, the district’s operation costs have spiraled, particularly the costs of employee health benefits and insurance, Baird said.

The problem has been made worse by shrinking enrollments, a trend the Ojai district has seen for seven years. District enrollment has fallen from a peak of 4,230 in 1997 to 3,580 for the current year, Baird said.

Because public school funding is distributed on a per-student basis, lower enrollments have become a major challenge -- one that administrators acknowledge is not likely to go away. School leaders said the five-year tax would provide a buffer for them to come up with ways to raise new revenue or consolidate schools.

The district owns valuable land on Ojai Avenue, property that could be leased or developed into a commercial venture that would provide additional operating dollars, administrators said. But it will take time to explore those options, they said.

Board member Rikki Horne said the district in recent years has already made considerable cuts. It has eliminated 27 teacher positions and three administrative slots over the last four years, she said.

Teachers have accepted a reduction in medical benefits, and salaries are frozen, she said. For the 2005-06 fiscal year, an additional $1.8 million in cuts would be necessary if the parcel tax is not approved, Horne said.

“Over the past 10 years, we have added music, drama and arts programs, and we reduced class sizes at the lower grade levels,” Horne said. “Our critics talk about bloat, but that’s what we would be dismantling.”

School officials attribute the drop in enrollment to rapidly rising home prices, which are shutting young families out of the Ojai Valley. A three-bedroom, single-family starter home that four years ago cost $250,000 is now fetching double that price.

With tight growth limits, the housing supply is not expected to loosen up. Ojai’s population is aging as the tight-knit, artsy community of 8,000 continues to draw older, wealthier home buyers.

Larner and other critics say the district should be looking at such things as cutting employee benefits or reducing administrative staff to save money. They predict that if the tax passes, even fewer people would move to Ojai.

“I can’t imagine anyone wanting to buy property in Ojai with taxes this high,” said Beasley, who attended Ojai schools and has two children enrolled in them.

But Baird said the district had little choice. Unlike businesses, the only way a school district can raise operating income is through a parcel tax.

“I wish there were other options,” he said. “This is the single tool for school districts to raise money allowed by law.”