Menlo Park City School District officials will draft ballot language on Thursday, April 15, to renew an existing parcel tax. Political consultants have told the district’s governing board to "continue to plan as though it will place the measure on the November ballot." The caveat: Expect that the Gov. Gavin Newsom's recall election is likely headed for a November vote and they don't advise putting the parcel tax on the same ballot.

John Whitehurst of Whitehurst Moser, the district's political consultant, made the recommendation to the school board during a March 25 meeting. The board will vote on the election dat at a May 13 meeting.

"It could bring out a subset of the population that's angry and wants to cast a vote," Whitehurst said during the March 25 meeting. "In general in past experiences, a recall electorate is a polluted electorate. ... I think it would just be really rough."

District staff members are advising the board to keep the planning calendar as-is but be prepared to move the election to March or June 2022 if needed, according to an April 15 staff report. School board members voiced support for this plan during the March meeting.

The board acknowledged moving the election date back will mean that the district would miss a second "bite at the apple" should the measure fail before the district's reserve funds will drop below the minimum amount specified in board policy — at least 15% of total annual spending. If that happens, the board would need to make further, more impactful cuts. Reserves are set to fall below 14.6% this school year.

Last month, the board directed staff to make $1.63 million in budget cuts for the 2021-22 school year. These cuts include to the administration; reduction of sixth grade physical education; and putting a hold on expanding the special education program. The budget maintains a placeholder of a 2.5% pay increase for staff each school year. The district is planning to cut an additional $1.9 million during the 2022-23 school year.

The board delayed $212,890 in cuts to health assistants and science aides for one year due to the pandemic and adoption of new science texts.

The tax in question is Measure X, which passed in 2017 with an initial annual rate of $360 per parcel for $2.83 million annually. The board has discussed asking voters for $598 per parcel, which would provide $4.6 million annually until ended by voters.

Measure X's financial runaway — the time before which the district would once again begin deficit spending — was only four years, the district has said.

The district has been exploring an extension of the measure since 2019. In March 2020, the board decided to shift focus from renewing a parcel tax to focusing on the immediate, short-term and long-term impacts of the pandemic. The district held three community input meetings on a potential parcel tax measure in February.

Tonight's meeting takes place at 5 p.m. on Zoom.