EDUCATION: MBUSD parcel tax heads to ballot
by Mark McDermott
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Education moved unanimously last week to propose a ballot measure that would extend the $225 parcel tax approved by voters in 2018.
That parcel tax, called Measure MB, generates $2.5 million annually and expires next June. The new parcel tax, as yet not officially named, will appear on the presidential primary ballot next March 5.
Voters last year rejected an annual $1,195 parcel tax, a citizen-led effort called Measure A, at the same rate at which they had formerly approved Measure MB — 69 percent voted against Measure A, and 69 percent voted in favor of Measure MB. Recent survey results indicated residents would support a $225 parcel tax again, but were less likely to support any increase.
“We have listened,” said Cathey Graves, the president of the school board, at its November 15 meeting. “Many members of the community approached us after the failed measure A and promised to support a parcel tax if it were the right amount. Polling shows that the right amount is a renewal at the current rate of $225. Our resolution this evening validates the thoughtful work of our Parcel Tax Committee, a diverse group representing many viewpoints in our community.”
The parcel tax committee was an advisory group that Superintendent John Bowes formed, composed of 24 residents, including many who opposed Measure A. Two members of the committee, Tyler Morant and Nathalie Rosen, will now co-chair the newly formed Committee to Renew Measure MB – Yes.
Graves thanked the pair for stepping up to the challenge.
“We know there is a lot of work ahead and we so appreciate their efforts and the efforts of their team to secure a funding source that will ensure a high quality education for our MBUSD students for the next six years,” Graves said.
In interviews, Morant and Rosen expressed cautious optimism that the parcel tax would win approval. Morant said that the no-frills approach — the proposed tax doesn’t even have a Consumer Price Index “inflation kicker” to adjust to rising costs — was arrived at through a process that represents a community consensus.
“From what we’ve seen from community leaders and other citizens, from the Josyln Center to other elementary school parents we’ve talked to about it, there is a common thread that renewing Measure MB is the right course of action to shore up funds,” Morant said. “People find this much more palatable, just $225. There’s a lot less friction [than with Measure A]. I think everyone sees this is a good decision.”
“It’s basically a re-up,” Rosen said. “It’s something that voters already approved five years ago. I mean, it’s exactly the same measure, same amount, same duration. Nothing is different. So it’s something everybody’s been accustomed to doing, and so our hope is that this won’t be a challenge to re-up and renew it.”
Another point of emphasis is that the ability for residents to exempt themselves from the tax remains the same, and those who filed for exemption from Measure MB would not have to refile — that exemption will remain intact.
Both Rosen and Morant are relatively new to Manhattan Beach and have kids in MBUSD schools. Rosen and his family arrived in 2009, Morant and her family in 2021. Each has been deeply impressed by local schools. Their motivation is to maintain the level of educational excellence their kids are experiencing in MBUSD classrooms.
“We were definitely lured by the outstanding reputation of the schools,” said Rosen, whose kids were formerly in private schools. “It’s so nice to finally put them in a local school, allow them to walk to and from school, and make friends who live a bike ride away. It’s a totally new experience for us, and I am so amazed by the quality of the education because we paid a lot more for private school before coming here. It’s impressive what the Manhattan Beach school district does, so when I heard that if this measure isn’t renewed, 21 teachers would be pink slipped at the beginning of March — and unless this passes, those are final layoffs — that was very concerning to me. I can’t imagine the school district will continue to succeed and be as strong if we lose those 21 critical teachers.”
Morant had a similar experience when he and his wife arrived in 2009. He lives in the Sand Section, and was amazed when he witnessed his first “walking school bus” of kids joining together to walk to Grandview Elementary.
“It was very clear to me that day, even though I was 28 or 29 at the time, that this community was based around this shared value of taking care of its citizens,” he said. “Every neighbor wanted to be there for each other, and it all started right there at the elementary school level — hand in hand, kids and parents walking, sharing this community and a set of goals.”
Morant sees the parcel tax in this same framework, a collective effort in which the community works together to insure the high quality of its chlldrens’ education. Rosen said volunteering to lead the effort is also something each of them are doing out of a sense of gratitude.
“Tyler and I are incredibly grateful to all of the community members who helped create this amazing school district from the early donors and founders of the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation to all the various school board trustees throughout the years and even the people who came together to pass Measure MB in 2018,” she said. “We are really just feeling very honored to follow in their footsteps and try to continue this amazing legacy that they created and that we want to preserve. We don’t want it to diminish in any way.”
The campaign will be very grassroots. Morant said it’s been helpful that former opponents of Measure A who support this effort have “opened doors” to parts of the community who still have a bad taste in their mouth over that ballot measure.
“It’s important that we come together as neighbors,” Morant said. “There is a lot of scar tissue that has kind of evolved, and we’ve all become a little bit too entrenched based on that experience. What we want to do is spread the message that we are in this together. We are a bunch of neighbors, and you can disagree, and disagree respectfully, but I think our shared value really is in creating a great school district to create great, upstanding children. And we all benefit from that.”
For more information see www.yes4measuremb.com. Anyone wishing to get involved with the campaign can email hello@yes4measuremb.com.
The campaign logo for the parcel tax committee.