Survey Shows Strong Voter Support for Parcel Tax

Initial support for a proposed four-year $180 annual New Haven Unified School District parcel tax — which would raise $3 million each year the tax is in place — appears to be strong, according to findings in a recent survey.

According to a telephone poll of 300 registered voters in the district, 65 percent said they would support the tax. That number includes 60 percent of those who said they would vote “yes” and five percent who would “lean yes.”

Thirty percent said they would vote or lean toward “no,” while five percent said they were undecided, the survey showed.

If the results are true to reality, then the district will still need a few more votes in favor to push them over the two-thirds majority (66.7 percent) vote mark.

“[The results] are really positive in that our community’s saying they support our schools,” said Charmaine Kawaguchi, president of the New Haven Teachers Association.

“Sixty-five percent is very difficult to achieve,” she added. “We’re in the ballpark.”

The survey was conducted by the EMC Research Group from Jan. 3 to 8 and included a series of questions about voters’ opinions of the proposed ballot measure. According to district spokesman Rick La Plante, the survey cost the district $15,000 to conduct.

Prior to last year’s Measure B campaign, , the district did not hold a professional survey due to time restrictions. With more time to plan, members of the new parcel tax committee decided to move forward with the survey to see where voters stood and which issues they would support, La Plante said.

The survey found that:

• more than two-thirds of voters know that the district is in need of money;
• more than three-fourths of voters agree that maintaining quality schools should be a top priority, even if it means raising taxes;
• core academics, teachers and preparing students for college and jobs are the voters’ highest priorities
• voters rate the district positively in some areas, but also feel there is room for improvement in regards to the quality of the district’s schools and academic achievement.

In planning since shortly after the previous parcel tax measure’s defeat, the New Haven Board of Education .

However, the research group recommends that the district consider placing the measure on the June primary ballot instead.

The cost for the June election would be significantly cheaper, costing the district between $90,000 to $110,000 rather than $200,000 for the May election, La Plante said. 

MORE CUTS TO COME

The survey results were presented at the Tuesday night New Haven Board of Education meeting by Chief Business Officer Akur Varadarajan, who earlier in the day attended a meeting in Sacramento where school officials were told to expect another round of budget cuts for the 2012-13 school year.

According to Varadarajan, the district must plan for an additional cut of $370 per student, which translates into an $4.6 million shortfall for the upcoming school year.

The district has already made more than $6 million in cuts to the 2011-12 school year alone, and were notified last month of .

According to La Plante, the district is being advised to plan for a worst-case scenario if Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to place tax measures on the November election is shot down, or if the taxes fail to pass.

“If the parcel doesn’t go through and if the governor’s tax measures don’t go through in the fall, then his proposal has devastating cuts to our schools,” Kawaguchi said. “It’s not education, it’s just housing the kids.”