Redwood City voters are about to get another big school funding question on their June 2 ballots. Hoping to shore up teacher pay and protect classroom programs, Redwood City School District trustees this week signed off on an eight-year parcel tax measure that district officials say would pull in roughly $12.2 million a year.
The new charge would sit on top of the district’s existing parcel levy, not replace it, and is billed as a way to head off more staffing cuts and keep hands-on instruction in place. At a special meeting, the board voted to call the election, according to Redwood City School District.
The district says the measure would park all proceeds in a separate account, require annual independent audits and set up a citizens oversight committee so residents can keep tabs on how the money gets spent.
What’s on the ballot
The proposal would charge 17.5 cents per building square foot, as reported by the San Mateo Daily Journal. For a 1,000-square-foot home, that pencils out to about $175 a year. The tax would come with a cap on total charges and exemptions for seniors, while unimproved parcels would be hit with a $25 flat fee…