CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / PALOS VERDES PENINSULA

Voters approved a parcel tax that would raise $3.25 million annually for Palos Verdes Peninsula schools, according to county elections officials.

Nearly 69% of the 18,012 voters who cast ballots by mail voted for the $165-per-parcel levy, which needed to be approved by two-thirds of voters to take effect. The parcel tax, which passed last week, will expire after four years.

As schools deal with billions of dollars in state funding cuts, districts are increasingly turning to local parcel taxes to shore up their finances. South Pasadena voters approved one earlier this month, and Tuesday is the final day for voters in the Rowland Heights and La Canada Flintridge districts to cast ballots on parcel taxes.

-- Seema Mehta