Bernstein is correct. Cline and Fergusson are incorrect. The city’s rebuttal to arguments against the project asserts the following:

FACT: Menlo Gateway is projected to net Menlo Park $1.4M annually and another $600,000 annually for schools in Menlo Park.

The “fact” is incorrect. The $600,000 for schools goes to the Sequoia High School District not “schools in Menlo Park.”

The authoritative facts are here, see slide 4. Web Link

Revised School District Analysis
• Project is located in Sequoia Union High School District ("SUHSD") and the Redwood City Elementary District ("RCED")
• SUHSD is a “Basic Aid” District:
• Most revenues come from local property taxes
• District would realize an annual net fiscal benefit of $611,000 from Project
• RCED is a “Revenue Limit” District:
• Receives substantial support from State
• As local property tax revenues increase, state aid decreases
• District would not realize any net fiscal impact from the Project.

The Sequoia Union High School District serves students in nine cities, including Menlo Park. It has an annual operating budget of about $100M. Web Link

The $600k in increased property taxes represents about .6%, and some small portion might of that surely rub off on M-A, the Menlo Park High School in nearby Atherton, but the assertion is factually incorrect, and probably represents a rushed attempt to twist a fact to give the appearance of benefiting local schools where there is almost no benefit.

Information being distributed by the developer (David Bohannon) distorts this even more, because the Bohannon hype includes property tax money being generated for the Redwood City Elementary School district, but because that district is a revenue limit district it must give back state money, dollar for dollar, for every dollar of new property tax it receives. So it gets no net benefit at all.

Finally, the Almanac seems unable to say anything factual about this either, turning an issue of fact, which school distict(s) benefit how much from future estimated property taxes, into a he-said, she-said story in which nobody gets it quite right.

That both Cline and Fergusson would assert that there is no inaccuracy, is troubling. They were both present in the meeting where the financial consultant tells them these facts.

Would really hurt so much to say they got it wrong?