COSTA MESA : Trustees to Fight Tax-Collection Levy

Newport-Mesa Unified School District trustees voted this week to oppose a new state law that allows counties to levy a fee for collecting property taxes for school districts.

In seeking to overturn the law, adopted by the Legislature this year, the school board agreed to help pay for a lawsuit being prepared by the California School Board Assn.

Newport-Mesa stands to lose about $665,000 if the county assesses the new fee, district officials said. About 97% of the district’s revenue is from property taxes.

Dennis Meyers, spokesman for the state school board group, said Newport-Mesa officials recently were among the first to support the concept of litigation. But since then, he said, other districts across the state have also voiced their misgivings about the new law.

Assistant Supt. Thomas Godley said the cost of litigation will be divided and prorated among all districts that agreed to participate. So far, however, the costs are unknown.

He said it’s preferable to pay onetime legal fees to overturn the law than to have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars yearly to the county.

“If it’s not fought and we’re not victorious, then we’re going to pay that $665,000 next year and the year after that and the check will get bigger,” Godley said.

District Supt. John Nicoll has said that this year the district will pay the fee by borrowing from reserve funds. But, he said, that money eventually will have to be repaid.