Beverly Hills Council Votes for Tax : Education: More than 20 people spoke at an emotional council hearing on the ballot measure that would raise school revenues by taxing lots.

The Beverly Hills City Council gave its unanimous endorsement Tuesday night to the proposed parcel tax on the June 5 ballot that would raise $22.5 million over five years for the school district.

The outcome came as no surprise, because all five council members had previously announced their intention to vote for the resolution endorsing the parcel tax measure, Proposition B. Nonetheless, a crowd of 120 filled the council chambers to capacity to witness a warm-up round of verbal sparring over the issue.

In the course of the three-hour hearing, more than 20 speakers took the microphone to praise or denounce the parcel tax.

Opponents of the measure were outnumbered in the audience by more than 2 to 1, but spoke forcefully against the tax. Sherman Kulick, chairman of Beverly Hills Citizens for a Cost-Effective Quality Education said: “We want to eliminate the frills in our system.”

Stephen Richter said that some other nearby school districts--San Marino, Palos Verdes Peninsula and La Canada--spend less per pupil and show higher scores on state achievement tests. Beverly Hills schools, he said, now offer “a Club Med ambience of elective courses.”

Kurt Haber accused the majority of the council of trying to quash the opposition by ignoring it. “I think you people should read the Constitution,” he said. But he reserved praise for Councilman Robert Tanenbaum, who had insisted upon specifically inviting the opponents to speak at the hearing. Haber called Tanenbaum “the only true American on the council. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be here,” he said.

Of the speakers urging the council to endorse the proposition, several represented civic and professional groups.

Board of Education President Frank Fenton said that 48 teachers would have to be laid off if the measure fails, and he blamed Proposition 13, which capped property taxes statewide, for the district’s financial woes. Without Proposition 13, Fenton said, the district would have an annual surplus of $16.5 million. “It would have been that simple, and we’d all be at home watching the Lakers,” he said.

Bernard Nebenzahl, co-chairman of Yes on Schools / Yes on Proposition B, said: “This is not intended to throw money at the schools--it is a maintenance and retention effort.”

Beverly Hills High School Principal Sol Levine disputed the tax opponents’ use of test scores as the main measure of the quality of the school district. He said that curriculum fulfillments, college admissions and performance of students after they graduate from high school are also significant.

The arts, library services and enrichment activities, he said, are not frills, nor are Advanced Placement classes--all of which, he said, would have to be reduced or eliminated if the proposition is defeated.

“What has been our pride and joy will be homogenized into mediocrity. We do that very well in America with our public schools,” he said. Levine received a standing ovation.

A number of speakers representing senior citizens, renters and real estate brokers, among others, told of their commitment to the school district and their fears of what an eroding educational system might mean for the community.

Several people poignantly recounted personal stories of how their parents, or they themselves, had moved to Beverly Hills solely so that their children could benefit from the superior education afforded by the district.

High school students were on hand to speak about what their Beverly Hills education has meant to them. Brett Walker, wearing a letterman’s jacket he earned in water polo and track and field, said that teacher Betty Nichols’ Latin class “has been like a home away from home for me for the past four years.”

Sporting spiky hair and a red “Yes on Prop B” T-shirt, David Haradon, a member of the school’s 1990 championship cross-country team, said that colleges are no longer looking at just test scores and grade-point averages. They demand a well-rounded student. “That begins in kindergarten with finger painting,” he said. “Art, computers and (advanced placement) courses are not frills. I will not be satisfied by less than the best, and I speak for 4,000 students,” he said.

Student Brandi Briskman said she had “never been academically motivated, but my art and interior design classes have helped me find myself--and a possible career.”

Carrie Barens, a former student body president, said: “If there are no (enrichment) programs, I’d rather go to a private school where they’re available.”

Following the public forum, all the council members made statements in favor of the proposition, approval of which would result in establishment of a yearly sliding scale ranging from $250 for condominiums to $750 for commercial plots larger than 10,000 square feet.

“To let this (district) become anything less than the best would be a disgrace,” said Councilman Max Salter, who recounted how an opportunity to learn about computers transformed his “average, going no place” son into a serious math and science student in his senior year. “Every child in this community is entitled to no less than my son got.”

Tanenbaum said that the central issue was support for public education and whether America will become a society for the “private and privileged.”

Mayor Allan Alexander had the last word before the vote. “If (the average tax of) $350 a year is a sacrifice for a person, so be it. Let’s sacrifice a little,” he said. “If we don’t approve this parcel tax, we’re playing Russian roulette with the future of this country.”