I started this blog back in 2008/2009 under the title "No on E" and here we go again.
The March 2nd Special Election for the San Marino Unified School District Parcel Tax Measure E is NOT a simple renewal for a set number of years like the 2015 Measure E renewal was "for six (6) years."
This Measure E has no end date and continues in perpetuity. Measure E on the March 2, 2021 ballot will make it in effect permanent unless ended by voters. That means someone has to qualify a voter initiative to put it on the ballot to end it.
The attached ballot question you will receive states, in part:
"... shall San Marino Unified School District continue to levy a $968 education parcel tax, with exemptions for seniors, raising approximately $4 million annually, to be assessed in each fiscal year with annual inflation adjustments until ended by voters?
An un-ending school parcel tax with built in annual increases will, in time, result in property owners paying hundreds of dollars more a year than the starting $968.
The attached March 2015 Measure E ballot statement for renewing Measure E stated clearly it is "for six(6) years." No parcel tax should become permanent; it is supposed to help SMUSD get through a rough patch with declining enrollment. SMUSD needs a paradigm shift and learn new methods to work more efficiently and eliminate waste when possible. A parcel tax is not a blank check that keeps on giving.
With a school parcel tax in perpetuity means there are no future renewals where SMUSD has to explain to the community why the parcel tax is still needed after the last renewal. An un-ending parcel tax is like giving free drugs to an addict; the addict never has to change his ways to learn to live without drugs.
Measure E should not pass because only a voter initiative in a future election can end it. The voter initiative process is complicated and expensive. Proponents wanting to end Measure E will spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to prepare/submit the initiative to the Attorney General. If approved, hundreds of signatures still have to be collected to qualify the measure for an election.
No Transparency: Campaign to “renew” the parcel tax was announced after deadlines to file Argument Against (Dec 11) and Rebuttal (Dec 21) to supporting statement. Voters against a tax in perpetuity would likely have filed opposition statements.
Tax Will Be In Perpetuity: Current tax renewed for 6 years. Measure E will be in effect forever without an end date. SMUSD will never have to explain why tax is still needed.
Extremely Difficult To Change: Tax can only be ended by a voter initiative following a very complex process requiring hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to qualify a voter initiative for an election. If passed, this Measure E school parcel tax will survive all of us and our heirs.
Vote No on Measure E. Let SMUSD revise Measure E back to a reasonable renewal for a set number of years.
This is NOT a renewal but a parcel tax in perpetuity: VOTE NO on E
The ballot statement presented to voters in the Mail-In Ballot has no end-date for the Measure E parcel tax. This tax will survive all of us and our heirs.
https://www.scribd.com/document/489515378/San-Marino-Unified-School-District-March-2021-Parcel-Tax-Ballot-Statement
San Marino Unified School District March 2021 Parcel Tax Ballot Statement on Scribd
In March, 2015, it was a renewal for six (6) years with an end-date to the tax
https://www.scribd.com/document/489515538/San-Marino-Unified-School-District-March-2015-Measure-E-Renewal-Ballot-Statement
San Marino Unified School District March 2015 Measure E Renewal Ballot Statement on Scribd
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