School Officials Push for Tax Hike Extension

Elected school officials endorsed putting an extension to a tax hike already in effect on June’s ballot.

The tax extension is part of the governor’s budget proposal and will last for five years if the voters approve it, according to a district report.

The resolution passed, but only after some resistance, rewriting and eventual truncating.

Allen Pulsipher, the school board president, initially crossed out several passages in the resolution that seemed to advocate for the schools.

For example, he struck the words “and deserve” from a sentence stating the tax extension will “support programs our students need and deserve.”

He also crossed out a sentence stating the school district “expects our local legislators to work with the governor to protect schools from further cuts and to ensure the continued investment our students deserve.”

He did this because the statements were “partisan,” he said during a meeting last week.

There’s nothing partisan about a school board advocating for the schools, said Trustee Vince O’Neal. “They need to invest in our students. If they don’t, there’s going to be worse business to come. We’re not going to have the workforce we need,” he said.

Without the tax revenue the measure would generate, the district will be in trouble, according to a school report.

“If voters refuse to approve the tax extensions, schools will be forced to make massive cuts,” the report stated. Those cuts will amount to $9 million, according to Superintendant Timothy Ritter.

Over the last three years, K-12 education took a disproportionate amount of budget cuts, according to a district report.

The Temecula Valley Unified School District’s budget took $11 million in cuts in the last three years, according to the report.

The district’s budget for the 2010-2011 school year is $197 million, according to district spokesperson Melanie Norton.

Some Temecula residents oppose the proposed tax hike. “Unfortunately in California, the unions are on a hay ride. They’re out of control,” said George Dilao, who spoke to the board at the meeting.

If the measure passes, he plans to move away. “I’ll leave California. I can’t stay here. I can’t do it,” he said.

By the end of the meeting, and at the behest of Pulsipher, the board cut the page-long resolution down to only a single sentence: The Temecula Valley Unified School District supports placing a measure on the June 2011 ballot.

It passed unanimously with Richard Shafer absent.