IRVINE : School Survey Finds Property Tax Support

A community survey on a proposed parcel tax to help the financially troubled Irvine Unified School District has found support for the levy, school board members said, but they note that the information is incomplete.

The school board will renew discussions tonight on the proposed tax on residential and commercial property. Trustees said they will wait until after the June 27 vote on Measure R, the proposed half-cent county sales tax, before deciding whether to put the parcel tax on a city ballot.

“The support for the parcel tax probably represents a majority, but that depends on the dollar amount of the tax we propose,” school board President Tom Burnham said. “It’s not an overwhelming majority.”

The proposed parcel tax would require two-thirds approval by local voters, a task that could be complicated by Measure R.

“People will be more likely to support a parcel tax if Measure R fails,” school board member Michael B. Regele said. “Its success is tied to the success or failure of Measure R.”

District officials estimate that a $100 to $182.50 tax on each of the city’s 36,200 eligible residential and commercial properties could bring the district $3.6 million to $6.6 million a year.

The district is cutting $2.2 million from next school year’s $100-million budget. And district budget planners estimate a $12-million loss from the December collapse of the Orange County investment pool.