PUSD to Review Parcel Tax Feasibility

Pleasanton Unified School District's consultant search for a parcel tax feasibility study will move forward this week when officials meet Thursday to review applications for the job.

This step comes more than one month after the district had originally planned to do so.

Four consultant firms have submitted proposals for the position, District Spokesperson Myla Grasso said. All applications were received by June 16. Board member Valerie Arkin said panel interviews are scheduled to begin Thursday.

The panel will include Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi, two board members, committee members and other district staff, Grasso said.

Ahmadi said the change in superintendents and the absence of Luz Cazares, the district's assistant superintendent of Business Services, were reasons for the delay. Cazares, who has been on maternity leave, is scheduled to return to work this week.

After reviewing applicants, Ahmadi said a recommendation will be forwarded to the board on who to award a contract to at its next board meeting, which is slated for Aug. 23.

The original timeline, which was set in May, had a goal of awarding a contract by July. That timeline was altered after district officials realized that the process they needed to go through hadn't been completed in time for the board's special meeting on July 14, Ahmadi said.

"I think it's really important that we set the stage right," Ahmadi said. "I'm hoping that as we go through this process, we will do everything we can to be sure to really look at our needs and how we can do a really good job on communicating with the community and asking for their input."

Ahmadi added that members of the Revenue Enhancement Committee will take part in reviewing applications. The Revenue Enhancement Committee, a subcommittee of the district's Budget Advisory Committee, found that a parcel tax may provide a long-term relief to the district's narrowing budget.

The district is facing an $8 million deficit in its 2010-11 school year. Much of the deficit has been closed as a result of staff furlough days as well as a district-wide fundraising campaign.

The district was unsuccessful in gaining approval for a parcel tax in June 2009, with 62.7 percent of voters supporting a parcel tax and 37.3 percent opposing. It needed a two-thirds vote to pass. That measure called for an annual $233 parcel tax for four years.

"We were very close when we went out for a parcel tax (in 2009)," Ahmadi said. "It's critical we do everything we can to communicate with the community to ensure success."

For more information on the district, visit http://www.pleasanton.k12.ca.us.