Beverly Hills School Board OKs Ballot Measure on Property Tax

The Beverly Hills school board has approved putting a parcel tax measure before the voters that would tax property owners $250 to $650 a year to help “protect quality education.”

The tax measure, which will be on the June 5 ballot, must be approved by two-thirds of the voters to take effect. The proposed five-year tax would raise about $4.5 million a year.

Under the resolution adopted Thursday, condominiums would be assessed $250 annually per unit and parcels with apartment buildings $650. Owners of single-family homes would pay $350 if their lot is smaller than 10,000 square feet, $500 if it is 10,000 to 19,999 square feet, and $650 for anything larger.

Commercial parcels of 10,000 square feet and under would be assessed $650 and those larger, $750.

Some parents had suggested that a broader range of rates--from $250 to $800--would be more equitable. But board President Frank Fenton said Thursday that the rates “were developed after careful research, and we wanted to keep them as low as possible.”

The tax revenues will go toward providing “competitive salaries” to teachers and other staff and maintaining “small class size in relation to other school districts” and various programs, the board resolution said.