TAXPAYER ALERT – MEASURE EE IN LA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

On June 4th, there will be a special election in Los Angeles for a tax increase on properties within the Los Angeles Unified School District.

• Wasting $12.5 million on a special election – The LAUSD Board of Education voted unanimously to put a tax increase before the voters in a special election to be held on June 4, 2019. The cost of the special election is $12.5 million.
• Adds hundreds of dollars to tax bills and rents – The proposed tax increase is 16 cents per square foot of building improvements on properties within the district. That’s $160 for every 1,000 square feet.
• Seniors exempted from tax, but not rent increases – Properties used as the principal residence of owners who are age 65 or older, or on disability, are eligible for an exemption. But there’s no exemption for rent increases or higher prices that result from the tax hike.
• Asking taxpayers for a bailout – The tax is expected to raise $500 million annually for 12 years. That’s the amount of the district’s structural deficit, the amount it has been spending in excess of available revenue.
• Irresponsible contract promises – LAUSD made a deal with the teachers’ union to end the recent strike without having the money to fund the contract. Now it’s demanding a tax increase.
• Bailout removes the pressure for needed reforms – Before the teachers’ strike, L.A. County was warning the district that it could be taken over due to projected financial shortfalls within a three-year period. That created pressure for budget reform. But instead of reform, LAUSD wants a massive tax increase.
• Average tax hike is $537 – The average tax increase on property will be $537 per year.
• Phony oversight – The tax measure promises “oversight,” but it is a phony promise. The measure says the money must be used for the “support” of schools, but that is so general that all the money could be spent on pensions and retiree benefits, with not one cent going into classrooms, and the spending would still meet the “oversight” test.

Paid for by No New Taxes, a Project of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.