BVUSD’s School Board to Hold on Parcel Tax Decision; April 14 Meeting Will Include Additional Information for Consideration

Big Bear Lake, CA — The Board of Trustees for the Bear Valley Unified School District is still considering whether or not to place a parcel tax initiative, to fund education programs in light of severe budget cuts at the state level, on the November 2 ballot of the Statewide General Election. When the Trustees convened earlier this week, they considered a staff recommendation to pursue the parcel tax with Tramutola and Godbe Research, a company with whom BVUSD already has a relationship. However, the school board opted not to make a decision yet—rather, they will receive a presentation from a second company, TBWB, at their regular meeting on April 14. Officials with BVUSD tell KBHR that, as this is such an important decision, the Trustees, led by President Beverly Grabe, are considering all options before determining if a) they should go forward with a parcel tax, and b) if so, with which company. The district’s Director of Business Services Walter Con notes that up to $67,000 in general fund monies would be applied to the effort leading up to the November ballot, the cutoff for which is August 6. BVUSD has never initiated a parcel tax and, if they were to do so, it is still undetermined what amount they would pursue. However, initial findings of the district, as generated by a telephone poll of the community, suggest that the passing of a parcel tax for education funding in the Big Bear Valley is a possibility. Once the district chooses a firm to assist in the process, that would only extend to August. As was the case with Measure Q, which passed in 2003, a community organization on behalf of the school district would campaign for the passage of the ballot measure. The success of the Measure Q initiative resulted in, among other things to benefit students, the construction of new, permanent buildings to replace old portables at Big Bear High School and Big Bear Middle School, and improvements in BVUSD technology.