District seeks tax through mail-in ballot





Even though Oak Park residents approved the Measure S school bond last November, they will be asked to renew a separate parcel tax in May that has been in effect since 2004.

Oak Park Unified School District officials hope that voters will support the tax continuation, Measure A, through a special mail-in ballot on May 2.

Homeowners will be asked to continue the $197 per year parcel tax that is set to expire June 30.

The Oak Park Unified School District Board of Education voted Jan. 17 in favor of authorizing a special election for the tax.

Tony Knight, superintendent of OPUSD, said the tax generates $900,000 per year for the school district, money that allowed the district to hire new teachers in 2004, Knight said.

“Historically, the OPUSD parcel tax has provided four to six additional teachers to reduce class sizes at all grade levels in (Oak Park) elementary schools,” Knight said. “At the secondary level, the parcel tax has provided four to five additional teachers to reduce class sizes in targeted areas of instruction, including math, science, social studies, and English literature and composition.”

The tax would continue to support programs that bolster student achievement in math, technology, reading and social studies, Knight said.

“This is a simple renewal of the current $197 per parcel approved by the voters in (2004) and renewed in 2008,” Knight said. “Both times it was approved by over 80 percent of the vote.”

To pass, the measure would require 66.67 percent voter approval.

Senior citizens age 65 and older who have filed for an exemption in the past will be automatically exempt and will not have to file paperwork again. For the first time, people with disabilities may file for an exemption.

In a letter to Oak Park residents, Knight said the parcel tax is different than the school district bond measures that have been approved over the years. The November 2016 Measure S bond, he said, is being used to pay for facility improvements, equipment and technology only. Bond funds cannot be used to pay for additional teachers to keep class sizes small.

Having fewer students in each classroom, Knight said, has helped Oak Park students become among the most successful in the state. Test scores have landed OPUSD in the top 1 percent of all school districts in the nation.

The district has also been recognized by the state for taking the lead on environmental issues, earning awards from the California Department of Public Health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Green Building Council and the California School Boards Association.

Oak Park residents pay some of the highest school taxes in the region with an average bill of more than $1,000 per year.

OAK PARK BY THE NUMBERS

Measure C6 (2006), $17.5-million bond for safety equipment and technology: $24 per $100,000 of assessed value at the time the property was purchased. Expires in 2033.

Measure R (2008), 29.5- million bond for school renovation and repair: $60 per $100,000 of assessed value. Expires in 2042.

Measure S (2016): $60 per $100,000. Expires in 2056.

Measure A, if it passes, would extend the $197 per year parcel tax that was first passed in 2004 and renewed in 2008. If renewed again, the tax will expire in 2025.



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