For a yard sign, email WeTheParentsMB@gmail.com
HERE’S WHAT A RETIRED CPA HAS TO SAY ABOUT MEASURE A
Many residents are telling me they have a variety of issues with Measure A, like the inflation kicker, seniors having anxiety about the need to file for an exemption, being apprehensive about voting to tax their neighbors, etc. But the #1 issue raised by far by everyone is the huge $12million price tag.
I have prepared many financial presentations to borrow large amounts from banks, raise money from investors, and support stock prices for companies going public as a CPA for 50+ years. When asking for money, the person or company putting up the money always wants to know 3 basic things.
What is the money going to be spent on (called a “Use of Proceeds” Statement or Budget)?
How will the “Use of Proceeds” achieve the stated objective as supported by the budget?
And, of course, how much money is being requested?
This Parcel Tax Measure was put on the ballot by a citizens group that did not provide satisfactory answers to #1 or #2, which is why they only provided a short list of bullet points to describe in general how the money will be spent instead of providing a proper budget or financial forecast. And worse yet, one of the bullet points is a “catch-all” category for “Personnel and instructional material.”
And the overly simplified computation of how much is being requested (#3) is terribly flawed. The best proof of this is a simple truth - District expenses exceeded revenue by only $1.7million (1.9%) in 2021-22 but the citizen’s group is asking for a whopping $12million starting next year with an inflation kicker for 12 years. This would produce an unprecedented increase in revenue of 14% in the first year. Wow!
MY RECOMMENDATION – Wait for a newly elected School Board, then demand of the new Board a detailed 3-year budget that average citizens can understand. Details should include how much money is needed to run the District in a manner that aligns with opinions expressed by the majority of residents per the recent survey conducted by experts engaged by MBUSD. The majority of residents want an increase in academic excellence in Reading, Writing, Math, Science, etc. - NOT social or cultural issues.
Now, back to the flawed computation - Hilary Mahan of MBEF stated in public that she computed the $1,095 or $12mil tax based on a goal of increasing the State and Federal revenue per MB student to match the statewide average. The flaw is that many school districts receive more per student for valid reasons that are not experienced by MBUSD.
For example, these Districts are forced to spend more money on issues related to their demographics that MB is not burdened with nearly as much, like kids where English is their second language, kids that live in foster homes, homeless kids, etc. In addition, many Districts experience a much higher cost of fixed overhead per student because their student body is much smaller by comparison. They still have to pay for the huge overhead costs of administration, facilities, and other operating costs, but it’s spread over a lot fewer students. For example, 80% of the 25 Districts in CA receiving the highest revenue per student had an “Average Daily Attendance” (ADA) in 2020-21 of less than 1,000 ADA versus 6,302 ADA in MB.
Here’s further proof that Ms. Mahan’s computation is flawed – MBUSD received 2.5% - 9.4% more in State and Federal funding per student in 2020-21 than 5 other school districts in LA County with demographics similar to MB and 11% - 24% more in Total Funding per student in these similar school districts (Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, El Segundo, La Canada, and South Pasadena).
The higher Total Funding per student received by MBUSD in comparison to School Districts with similar demographics in the face of a 1.9% operating loss seems to indicate that MBUSD’s budget is in need of a more rigorous review and closer scrutiny by the newly elected School Board to ferret out and quantify reckless spending, examples of which were pointed out in a recent flyer.
Even a cursory look at the MBUSD budget for 2021-22 by Ms. Mahan as a source to compute the parcel tax needed would have revealed that $12mil or $1,095 per parcel is much too high, as follows:
A new tax starting at $12million per year is $10.3million higher than the District’s $1.7 million shortfall for the school year 2021-22.
That’s why people are asking for details on how the extra $10.3mil is going to be spent.
Nobody from the citizen’s group can provide a valid answer because the amount of parcel tax requested was not based on customary budget analysis, like steps # 1 and 2 explained above.
To provide context on a $1,095/parcel, a mere $155/parcel would cover the $1.7mil shortfall.
Consultants hired by MBUSD recommended making the current $225 tax permanent with an inflation adjustment, plus adding a new parcel tax of only $325 (3.4 times lower than $1,095).
A $325 parcel tax would increase revenue by $3.6mil, which would more than cover the $1.7million shortfall in 2021-22.
WE CAN WAIT. THERE IS NO NEED TO APPROVE THIS FLAWED PLAN ON THE JUNE BALLOT. MSUSD has a surplus of about $10mil, the MBEF has an endowment worth over $30mil, and funding from the current parcel tax goes for 2 more years through the 2023-24 school year.
OTHER BASIC QUESTIONS RESIDENTS ARE ASKING.
Why is the citizen’s group spending so much money to push for passage of this tax on a June ballot before the November School Board election and a full 2 years before the current parcel tax is scheduled to expire?
Does it seem appropriate for MBEF, led by Hilary Mahan, to contribute $49,999 to the citizen’s group to help persuade residents to vote for Measure A?
Why are such extreme measures being employed by Mayor Stern, Council Members Montgomery and Napolitano, the School Board, and the citizen’s group to persuade seniors that the actual language in the ballot regarding the need to file for an annual exemption and unlimited increases for inflation has been amended, and why has the City agreed upfront to defend challenges that the amendment is legally enforceable?
~A Concerned Citizen that chooses to keep his name confidential because of this cancel culture.
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