LIVERMORE — A member of an area taxpayers affiliation is suing to place the brakes on a particular Could election referred to as by the Livermore faculty district to ask voters to resume a parcel tax value about $4 million a 12 months.
The lawsuit, filed this week in Alameda County courtroom, claims that the Livermore Valley Joint Unified Faculty District is deceptive voters with the language it makes use of within the 75-word poll query, which is required by legislation to be a “true and neutral” description of the tax measure residents may vote for or in opposition to.
The poll description of the tax measure says if accepted, it could “renew expiring native faculty funding with out growing taxes,” and says the cash “can't be taken by the state.”
The tax cash can be used to “protect high quality lecturers in math, science, studying, writing, engineering and expertise; appeal to and retain certified lecturers; protect TK-12 expertise and elementary science specialists” and to “preserve classroom expertise and curriculum up-to-date,” in keeping with the poll description.
Advocates with the Alameda County Taxpayers Affiliation say the wording is imprecise, deceives voters and is emblematic of a bigger concern with many native and state measures, the sort referred to as out by an Alameda County grand jury in its 2021 report.
Michelle Dawson, a spokesperson for Livermore Unified, stated in a press release that the district is working with attorneys to deal with the lawsuit.
“We're assured that the construction and course of used to provoke the proposed poll measure stands on strong authorized floor. It's unlucky that our district might want to spend time, assets and taxpayer dollars to defend itself in opposition to claims we consider to be faulty and unfounded,” Dawson stated.
The lawsuit was filed by Jason Bezis, an lawyer representing Alan Heckman, a Livermore resident and a member of the Alameda County Taxpayers Affiliation, which has derided the varsity district for its alternative to carry a particular election, calling it wasteful, and for what it calls the “deceptive” description of the parcel tax to voters.
The lawsuit goals to have the courtroom halt the Could 3 particular election, and require amendments to the poll query language.
Bezis stated phrases like “can't be taken by the state” are deceptive as a result of “there’s no debate in anyway” that the cash can be regionally managed.
“It’s imagined to be impartial, however the actuality is these poll questions are written by outdoors consultants and so they check the phrases by means of voter surveys,” Bezis stated.
“The varsity district tries to sneak in language that examined effectively within the voter survey, so that they’re attempting to feed buzzwords or catchphrases again to the voters that transfer the needle in the direction of sure,” he stated in an interview.
The parcel tax measure is a renewal of a parcel tax voters first accepted in 2004, then prolonged in 2008 and once more in 2014.
The present tax, Measure G, costs landowners within the faculty district boundaries a tax of $138 per parcel yearly. The district consists of Livermore in Alameda County and a small portion of Contra Costa County. The tax is about to run out in July.
The brand new tax measure, Measure A, would levy the identical quantity of tax as the present one, and would final for seven years.
Marcus Crawley, the pinnacle of the taxpayers affiliation, stated the varsity district is attempting to “paper over” the fact by utilizing phrasing like “with out elevating taxes” and never giving voters clear, unbiased info.
“They are saying ‘We’re simply extending the present tax.’ Properly, they’re not extending the present tax; the present tax expires, after which it’s over with. So it is a new tax, and so they weasel round in various alternative ways to keep away from saying it is a new tax,” Crawley stated in an interview.
Bezis additionally stated though the poll query says there can be “unbiased citizen oversight” of the taxes collected, the total poll measure textual content doesn't embody a assure to again that up.
The tax measure is taken into account a particular tax, and would require sure votes from two-thirds of all votes forged to be able to move, and is meant for use for particular functions. Crawley stated he takes concern with what he referred to as “very imprecise” wording about how the cash can be spent.
“They could as effectively kiss off the particular functions as a result of it may be spent on something,” Crawley stated of the poll query description.
The lawsuit additionally claims the Livermore faculty district’s board, which voted on Feb. 1 to name for a particular election on Could 3, dedicated an oversight when it didn’t embody formal discover to voters that the election can be a strictly mail-in election, with no polling locations open on the day of the election.
Bezis maintains the election outcomes might be void due to the lacking discover.
Crawley stated the district is losing taxpayer cash by spending extra to carry a particular, separate election, slightly than put the parcel tax measure merchandise on the broader state main poll on June 7, or on ballots in prior years.
Dawson, from the varsity district, stated in an e mail Wednesday the district thought of placing the measure up for renewal previous to this 12 months, however “the pandemic created lower than splendid circumstances to carry forth an early renewal to voters.”
Dawson stated the district’s “key consideration” in deciding to carry a particular election in Could this 12 months was concern over layoff notices to lecturers whose salaries are funded by the parcel tax. Notices sometimes exit on March 15, and secondary notices are issued Could 15, she stated.
By holding a Could 3 election, the district “can be ready to rescind the secondary layoff notices previous to the adopted finances” if the measure seems to move, and will probably “keep away from the lack of worthwhile lecturers who would possible search various employment resulting from unsure employment standing,” she stated.