Board of Trustees to add parcel tax on November ballot

By Ryan Ariel Simon
The Guardsman

A resolution to place a parcel tax on the November 2012 ballot authored by Board of Trustees President John Rizzo and Trustee Chris Jackson passed unanimously at the Aug. 25 board meeting.

The resolution directed the trustees to have a full plan ready by October 2011.

Over four years the tax would raise $8 million per year for City College, the idea being that “after four years we hope the economy improves,” Rizzo said, adding however, “It’s not going to be any kind of silver bullet.”

Which parts of City College would receive the funds has not yet been determined, though it may end up in the district’s general fund, Rizzo said. The Aug. 25 resolution directs the trustees to form a committee to decide what the tax will fund, along with the final amount of the tax to be collected from San Francisco property owners.

“People representing every constituency will have input,” said Phyllis McGuire, Interim Vice Chancellor for Policy & Research. The committee will be made up of local union representatives, students, administrators, and faculty, who will draft the plan together, she said.

While the parcel tax is just a temporary measure to help soften the recession’s blow to the district, the statewide oil extraction tax would be much better, and a real solution for California community colleges, said board president Rizzo.

Activists are currently gathering signatures to put the oil tax, dubbed Proposition 1481, on the November 2012 ballot, which the board also unanimously passed on August 25, joining the ranks of many who are endorsing the initiative.

According to data recovered from a survey of 1,500 potential San Francisco voters, the parcel tax would narrowly receive the two-thirds majority needed for its passage.