ALAMEDA — Measure A, a faculty parcel tax voters narrowly authorised in 2020, has been struck down in court docket, however Alameda Unified says it plans to enchantment the ruling.
A lot of the cash raised by Measure A goes towards academics’ salaries and advantages. College district officers haven't stated how they may pay for promised instructor wage will increase with out the seven-year tax, which raises an estimated $10.5 million yearly. They might solely say that they continue to be dedicated to honoring the negotiated pay raises. A district spokeswoman stated she wouldn't remark additional due to the continuing litigation.
Resident Leland Traiman, a nurse practitioner who unsuccessfully ran for a faculty board seat in 2020, filed the lawsuit contesting the tax.
Below the measure, property house owners had been taxed 26.5 cents per sq. foot of their constructing, with an annual cap of $7,999. Trainman contended that the tax was unfair as a result of bigger companies such because the Fortunate Grocery store on Marina Village Parkway had been taxed much less per sq. foot than smaller companies and residences.
“I've been labeled anti-school, I’ve been labeled a conservative,” Traiman stated. “No, I'm not a conservative. … I’m a progressive that believes everyone ought to pay their fair proportion.”
Alameda County Superior Courtroom Choose Julia Spain struck down the measure, apart from a $299 flat tax on unimproved properties, on April 5.
“As sympathetic as this court docket could also be to the will to lift extra funds to help faculties and high quality schooling for college students, it's nonetheless duty-bound to uphold the provisions of the California Structure,” Spain wrote in her official determination. The choose dominated that the parcel tax created unequal taxation, a violation of Authorities Code 50079.
When proposing the tax, district officers stated it was wanted to assist retain academics. Alameda Unified officers have stated the district was dropping almost 20% of its academics and workers every year to different college districts which have larger salaries and stronger advantages, earlier than the tax was in place.
The college district has been gathering the tax for 2 years. As of now, officers say they haven't been advised to reimburse that cash. Nevertheless, David Brillant, Traiman’s legal professional, stated he shall be asking the court docket to instruct Alameda Unified to pay again property house owners the cash they've paid.
Alameda Unified spokeswoman Susan Davis stated the district continues to be dedicated to honoring the salaries it has already agreed to, together with a 9% elevate that was negotiated within the 2019-20 college yr and a 2% elevate final month.
Within the 2020-21 college yr, academics had a median compensation of $93,788 and a well being and welfare profit contribution of $5,216, under the Alameda County common for related college districts, which is $95,386 for compensation and $6,025 for well being and welfare profit contributions.
Every elevate of 1% prices the district roughly $1 million yearly, in line with Davis. There are about 550 academics within the district.
“We're disenchanted within the Superior Courtroom’s determination,” Alameda Unified wrote in an emailed assertion despatched by Davis. “We proceed to imagine this measure is authorized, nonetheless, and we all know that this income is essential to our having the ability to appeal to and retain high-quality academics and faculty staff.”
There's a historical past of 14 years between the college district and a few residents who've fought what they seen as unfair square-footage parcel taxes; the district has gone to court docket 4 occasions, together with this newest case.
Measure H was the primary Alameda Unified parcel tax to be challenged. Permitted by voters in 2008, it created a tax that imposed a flat charge of $120 per yr on properties with lower than 2,000 sq. toes and a charge of 15 cents per sq. foot with a cap of $9,500 per yr for properties larger than 2,000 sq. toes. After difficult and interesting the measure in court docket, the top outcome was a flat tax of $120 for all properties following the First District Courtroom of Appeals’ refusal to listen to the case.
In a unique Measure A case that was fought in court docket, voters authorised taxing properties lower than 24,977 sq. toes at a charge of 32 cents per sq. foot and taxing properties above 24,977 sq. toes at a flat charge of $7,999. The court docket dominated in favor of the college district and the tax was allowed to remain. That tax expired in 2018.
Measure B1, a parcel tax authorised in 2016 with 74.2% of the vote, stays in place. Cash generated by that tax funds quite a lot of applications for the college district, together with music, bodily schooling and effective arts courses. In response to Davis, the Measure B1 parcel tax is separate from Measure A and can't account for the income misplaced from not gathering on Measure A.