Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association Endorses School Parcel Tax Measures

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By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @magnoli

Group's 'overwhelming majority' votes to support both Measures A and B

The Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association has voted to support the local parcel tax measures on November’s ballot, according to Executive Director Joe Armendariz.

Armendariz said presentations from Santa Barbara Unified School District Superintendent Dave Cash and Board of Education member Ed Heron were well-received, and “the overwhelming majority” voted to endorse both Measure A and Measure B.

SBCTA directors have been involved with local school districts for decades, and many have served on bond oversight committees and school boards, Armendariz noted in a letter sent to SBUSD informing it of the endorsement.

In the past 10 years, the SBCTA has supported more than $200 million in local school bonds and has opposed some measures the organization determined weren’t in the best interest of local taxpayers, he wrote.

Measures A and B would replace parcel taxes H and I, which expire next June and fund math, science, technology, foreign language, arts, music and theater programs for elementary and secondary schools.

Measure A, for the secondary district, would levy a $45-per-parcel rate for four years, and Measure B would levy a $48-per-parcel rate for the elementary school district.

The district unsuccessfully put a $54-per-parcel tax on the ballot in June, and the Board of Education lowered the amount to try to get the two-thirds majority required in November.

The Santa Barbara Education Foundation ran the campaign for the June election and is running it again for the upcoming election.

— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

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