Vote NO on Measure P

The Parcel Tax Should Be Entirely Progressive, Just Like It Used to Be

The school parcel tax was previously based on home valuation. However, when a court case deemed this method illegal, the school board faced a choice: implement a flat tax or a tax proportional to square footage, which aligns more closely with the original progressive tax model. Unfortunately a wealthy Republican pushed for a purely flat tax and got his allies on the school board to agree. Years later, the 2019 school board decided to introduce a smaller progressive tax alongside the original flat tax, resulting in Measures G and H. The new taxes, effective in 2020, represented an overall 24% increase from the prior flat tax, which was already the largest in the state. There should only be one parcel tax and it should be progressive by square footage.

State and District Funding Increases Despite Declining Enrollment

K-12 student enrollment has declined statewide. Interestingly, state funding for K-12 education is a fixed percentage of total state revenues—approximately 40%—regardless of student enrollment numbers. State revenues have steadily grown from $222 billion in 2020-21 to $315 billion in 2023-24. During that same time period total state funding for Piedmont Unified (PUSD) increased from $45 million to $51 million. Notably, PUSD’s student enrollment has declined at a faster rate than the state average, meaning revenues could have been even higher if the decline had mirrored state trends.

Parcel tax revenue is also fixed, with small annual escalators, and is independent of actual student enrollment in the district. As a result, a declining student body receives the same funding from the parcel tax, leading to higher per-student funding.

Decrease in Budget Allocation for Teaching

The portion of the budget allocated to teaching has decreased from over 70% to below 60% from 2013-14 to 2023-24. Increased demands for spending on special education, student wellness, and administration, along with rising PG&E expenses, have consumed most of the new funding entering the district from higher state revenues.

This reduction in the budget for teaching has resulted in smaller raises for teachers, ultimately leading to the threat of a strike. The president of the teachers’ union stated that it is not her responsibility to understand the budget; rather, it is the duty of the school district (Superintendent, Chief Business Official, and School Board) to ensure that teachers are compensated in a manner that accounts for cost of living adjustments (COLA).

To meet the demands for increased pay and benefits by the teacher’s union, the district has implemented a reduction in teaching staff that is now resulting in larger than the “right” class sizes as determined by the district. They have not reduced non-teaching staff to any significant level for the noble goal of protecting teacher positions.

In my view, the above named responsible parties do not understand the budget well enough to recognize these underlying trends and consequences.

Measure P Broadens Spending Categories of Measure H

Measure H’s spending language primarily focused on teachers and teaching: “To maintain the high quality of education in Piedmont schools, continue funding programs in math, science, technology, engineering, English, music, and arts, keep textbooks and instructional technology up to date, maintain smaller class sizes, and attract and retain qualified teachers…”

In contrast, Measure P’s spending language includes instruction but omits the commitment to smaller class sizes. It broadens the scope to include special education: “Measure P funds will be used to help Piedmont attract and retain exceptional teachers and educational staff. Money raised by Measure P will also go toward: 1) Providing advanced educational programs that help students get into college; 2) Providing advanced programs in science, technology, engineering, art, and math; 3) Providing academic intervention for children who need additional support.”

The terms “intervention” and “support” also encompass spending on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives, the Wellness Center, and potentially the growing administration. Measure P seeks an additional $2.5 million to fund these broader expense categories.

Concerns About Fiscal Mismanagement and Misrepresentation

Half of the decrease in budget allocation for teaching came after the passage of Measure H in 2019. The language of Measure H suggested this would not occur and it seems the language of what’s promised in Measure P is what has been happening since 2014.

Education is the core purpose of PUSD; however, over the past decade, non-teaching expenses have skyrocketed while teacher salaries and benefits have lagged behind inflation. Voting for a tax hike would effectively endorse this mismanagement and the redirection of public funds to non-essential functions.

Given the ongoing decline in student enrollment throughout California, particularly in Piedmont, the teachers’ union has already agreed to the district’s plan to reduce staff in core subject areas to provide remaining staff with cost-of-living adjustments and enhanced healthcare benefits.

Endorsement of Woke Ideologies

Many fiscal and academic impacts of DEIB programs stem directly from school board resolutions and actions. Recently, multiple parent clubs, backed by school board members, forced the resignation of the Wildwood Elementary School principal for not being sufficiently responsive to DEIB.

Additionally, the School Board has decided that each teacher can exclusively determine their own grading system without consistency by subject or review by the school site, or district. As a result, middle and high schools are gradually transitioning to “Grading for Equity,” a grading approach that inflates grades and reduces differentiation in the name of promoting equal outcomes (a.k.a. Equity).

Educational excellence has taken a back seat to catering to special interest parent clubs seeking increased student services, administrators, and conformity.

These thoughts were gathered from multiple community volunteers who have a deep understanding of the issues discussed.