by Mark McDermott
The parcel tax initiative proposed by grassroots group MB Citizens for Schools was approved for a June 7 special election by a unanimous vote of the city council Tuesday night.
The council needed to take action before March 10 in order to place the measure on the June election ballot. And since the City’s regularly scheduled election is not until November, Council needed to not only call for a special election but also fund its cost, estimated by LA County election officials at $140,000.
Councilperson Richard Montgomery, who made the motion to approve the special election, said the urgency of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District’s funding shortages makes the election necessary. If the initiative is approved in June, MBUSD will receive tax proceeds by July. Waiting until November would have meant waiting a year for potential revenues.
“So there’s a financial impact by delaying,” Montgomery said. “Number two, the community is involved here. That’s not a sneak-up on anybody type of election. If you know how many people signed a petition in a week — they’re definitely aware. Secondarily, I would say that we have many issues we dispute in the city, and that’s not anything new…but there’s one fact that is indisputable. California schools have suffered from consistent underfunding, and Manhattan Beach is one of the lowest funded school districts in the state. That is indisputable, and that is what we need to take care of.”
The MB Citizens for Schools group collected 4,087 signatures in a little over a week in February in order to qualify for the June election. The effort exceeded the state requirement, which is 10 percent of Manhattan Beach’s roughly 27,000 registered voters, or 2,700 signatures. The proposed ballot measure would impose a $1,095 annual parcel tax, adding $2,000 in per-pupil funding for MBUSD students, which would bring funding near national averages.
Councilmembers Joe Franklin and Suzanne Hadley expressed misgivings about calling the special election, although each eventually voted for it.
Franklin acknowledged that MBUSD is drastically underfunded, describing the state’s Local Control Funding Formula “heinous” for penalizing high-performing schools like those in Manhattan Beach. But he argued that since the current parcel tax is only $227 the increase deserves the scrutiny of the November midterm elections, which will have greater turnout.
“I would still like to see a higher participation rate election decide this one,” he said. “It’s so fundamentally different from what we’ve been doing before.”
Hadley expressed appreciation that the initiative proponents were not “taking half measures” to address MBUSD’s funding problems, but said that the special election felt rushed, as well as expensive for the City.
“I don’t like to feel rushed,” she said. “I don’t feel like this Council makes its best decisions rushed. Our elections are in November. We made that commitment as a City, so I just would prefer November. That’s our system.”
Councilperson Steve Napolitano seconded Montgomery’s motion, noting that the initiative had been well-publicized and was “not a huge mystery” to voters, and arguing the City and MBUSD share a common mission.
“We are partners…and as partners and as folks who have a shared constituency, and put education right up there with public safety and giving the best opportunities to our kids, I don’t know why we wouldn’t,” he said.
Mayor Hildy Stern commended MB Citizens for Schools. She said the uncluttered June ballot will also help give voters the ability to focus on the initiative and its issues.
“There isn’t the confusion about all of the other initiatives that might be coming up in the fall, and there is this amazing momentum that has been started,” Stern said. “As partners with the district. I would like to see us supporting that momentum and supporting this effort.”
After the motion passed 5-0. Montgomery, Napolitano, and Stern agreed to jointly write an argument on behalf of the initiative for the ballot.
After the meeting, MB Citizens for Schools co-chair Wysh Weinstein thanked the council for its support, which she said was indicative of how the community is unifying over this issue.
“We are thrilled the community has come together,” she said. “We look forward to the conversations and education over these next few months on how we can finally adequately fund our schools. What we have achieved in such a short time is a true testament to the residents of Manhattan Beach and the priority they place on education.” ER
