Anti-Tax Group Sues to Overturn School District’s Assessment Fee : Financing: Critics say the assessment district circumvents the law requiring two-thirds approval by voters. Educators say it’s a way to provide needed renovations.

A new fee to raise money for Whittier-area high schools has prompted a recall drive and a lawsuit against the Whittier Union High School District.

The suit, filed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., alleges that the district’s new maintenance assessment fee is nothing more than an illegal property tax. The Jarvis organization is asking the Los Angeles Superior Court to overturn the fee.

The fee also provoked the wrath of some residents who have launched a recall movement against three board members.

The assessment added $20 a year to property tax bills for homeowners, $15.76 per apartment, condominium or mobile home, and $50 an acre for owners of commercial properties. There also are increased fees for owners of mines, farms and undeveloped land.

The district intends to use the money to construct, renovate and maintain recreational facilities and buildings used by the public.

In March, the district attempted to raise money for the projects through a $78-million bond issue, but it fell 37 votes short of getting the two-thirds majority needed.

After the bond issue failed, district officials began looking for ways to raise money that did not require voter approval. The school board unanimously approved its assessment district fee July 29 before a mostly hostile audience of 250. School officials defend the fee on the principle that the public should pay its share for facilities it uses.

“The need is there, and we’ve applied the assessment district criteria in a proper manner,” Supt. Lee Eastwood said. “And we believe we have the public support to maintain the district for the benefit of the entire community.”

The bond effort, even though it failed, proved that most voters are willing to pay a small fee to improve the schools, he said. “It was that close; 66.55% of the people said yes.”

This year’s $1.3-million assessment would be used to renovate football stadiums at California and Pioneer high schools. Eastwood noted that the wood was rotting in the stadium bleachers and that the lighting and irrigation systems were antiquated and subject to frequent, costly breakdowns. Individuals as well as community groups use district fields and playing courts for activities ranging from formal leagues to pick-up games.

“The money that goes into redoing these stadiums has to be matched by the school district since the kids use these stadiums as much as the public uses them,” Eastwood added. “We’re doing an honest deal.”

Critics call the assessment a property tax by another name, and say it must be approved by two-thirds of the voters. They say that Whittier Union is making improper use of state regulations that were never intended to benefit school districts.

Joel Fox, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., called maintenance assessment districts “an arrogant attempt by school districts to circumvent Proposition 13’s requirement for a vote of the people for special taxes. If the school districts think we will ignore these illegal taxes, they are wrong. We will oppose them to the limits of our resources.”

Joining the Jarvis group in the suit is the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles and Whittier-area residents Fling Traylor, Joseph Vinatieri and William Wise.

Wise and Richard Bries, who are running for the school board, are among the leaders of the just-started recall drive. The recall targets Octavio Chavez, Eve Burnett and John Rios. The seats of board President Joe Duardo and member Harward Stearns are up for election this November, and neither is running for reelection.

Thus far, not one of the eight candidates has announced support of the assessments, district officials said.

Outcries from residents and taxpayer lawsuits have persuaded numerous districts to reconsider the assessments. The Orange Unified School District, for example, eliminated its assessment after the Jarvis organization filed suit. Other districts have not backed away from the fees, including the Whittier City School District and the Bonita Unified School District in the San Gabriel Valley. Jarvis organization officials said they may also file suit against Bonita.

Whittier Union has no plans to withdraw its assessment fees, Eastwood said. Future assessments must be approved annually by the board after a public hearing.

So far, district efforts to raise money have cost more than they earned. The district will not receive the assessment fees before December. The district spent more than $100,000 to hold the March bond election and $114,000 to create the assessment district. Defending it in court or dismantling it could cost thousands more. A recall election would add at least another $100,000 to the district’s bills.

Eastwood said the setbacks were frustrating, but that the assessment district remained a worthy idea. “I don’t think an investment of $20 a year is an unfair amount to assess the community when the benefit is obvious both for recreational purposes and to benefit the property values in the community,” Eastwood said. “If these facilities are allowed to continue to deteriorate, it will have a deleterious effect on the community as a whole.”

Jarvis organization officials say the needs of school districts give them no right to circumvent tax laws. “If schools want to increase their revenue, they should do it by the prescribed method, a two-thirds vote of the people,” Fox said. “From a political and practical point of view . . . the school boards did not want to face the voters.”