Assessing Views of Taxes, Quality Education and Protest
The Placentia-Yorba Linda school board conducted a public hearing on July 13 to discuss the formation of a new assessment district whereby it would force property owners to pay yearly for school recreational facilities that it already owns and operates.
This assessment (or tax) is based on an obscure 1972 Landscaping and Lighting Act that allows public agencies to levy a property tax without a public vote. Many local communities (La Habra, Orange, Fullerton, Westminster, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Buena Park) have been acting swiftly to beat an Aug. 10 deadline for adding the assessment to the 1991-92 property tax bills. This ploy is recognized by all as a means to bypass the spirit of Proposition 13.
The interest of our taxpayers in this subject was obvious. When more than 350 people started to arrive, the public hearing was moved to the Esperanza High School auditorium, which was overflowing. This was not a case of public apathy. The people came to be heard.
Forty of us addressed our viewpoints to the board in the two-minute time slots allowed. Two common themes emerged: 1) This is not the American way; put it on the ballot and let the people decide on the merits of the issue. 2) No new taxes. We have had it; we are not going to take it anymore.
The school board proposal was far more ambitious than any of the other communities’ proposals in that it provided for not only existing facilities, but for the acquisition and construction of new facilities. The dollar value of the initial assessment was modest--$17 per year per property. Clearly, we all want quality education for our children--and who couldn’t afford $1.42 a month (or 5 cents a day)?
However, the board’s proposal contained dangerous provisions for open-ended increases in future years to finance its perceived need for “quality education for our children,” which in this case means maintenance of tennis courts, play courts, running tracks, etc.
We had been forewarned that ours was a lost cause. We lost. The school board voted 3 to 2 against the people.
ERNEST & DONNA MARTIN, Yorba Linda
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