At the May 14, 2024 board meeting, MUSD board members collectively approved measures to explore the possibility of adding a new parcel tax measure to the November 2024 election ballot, according to the MUSD website. They will work with two firms, Props & Measures and EMC Research, to evaluate the feasibility of the parcel tax and potentially get it on the ballot, the website said.
Under the current parcel tax, homeowners are required to pay $84 per year, Superintendent Cheryl Jordan said. If the majority of voters approve the additional parcel tax, it will allow more funding for district-wide programs such as computer science and athletics, she added.
“The parcel tax could provide an additional $1.2-2 million each year,” Jordan said. “It’s essential that we are able to get community support for passing an additional parcel tax so that we can continue to maintain the good work that we’re doing with our learners.”
An additional parcel tax is not only essential for funding programs, but also for funding staff members across the district — especially teachers, Board President Minh Ngo said.
“The current parcel tax still provides us with over a million dollars, which can fund up to four staff members,” Ngo said. “If we cut four teachers, all of a sudden, the rest of the students have to crowd with larger class sizes.”
It would be beneficial to continue having different options for funding, with a parcel tax being one of them, Ngo said.
“The parcel tax is extremely valuable because it comes directly to our district, and it doesn’t go through the state income tax and let different legislative authorities dictate where that funding goes,” Ngo said. “So we have more direct control.”
Property taxes in Milpitas alone aren’t high enough to support funding for students’ education, Ngo said.
The cost for education is “roughly about $16,000 (per student per year),” Ngo said. “Right now, we’re only funded at about $13,000 per student, so there’s a $2,000 gap range, if we’re talking about the average education.”
Funding from the state is supplemental to the school funding, Ngo said. However, it does not provide enough support, he added.
“If you look at the way taxes are, you have property tax, part of which goes to funding school districts,” Ngo said. “And you have income tax, which doesn’t always go to the school districts. It goes to the state, and they decide as far as how to allocate that additional funding.”
Schools in MUSD must also receive sufficient funding to keep up with new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), Board Trustee Chris Norwood said. Technology is getting more advanced and teachers are learning how to integrate AI into the education system, he added.
“The world is just changing so fast,” Norwood said. “I want (the students) to have a glimpse of it while they’re at school. There’s nothing worse than a school that’s not relevant, or a classroom that is not teaching you relevant things.”
With the introduction of AI, it is essential that MUSD graduates are up-to-date on knowledge about topics like computer science, or else they will fall behind others in Silicon Valley and the rest of the world, Jordan said.
“I don’t want our learners to be behind others when it comes to having the tools and experiences that they need so that they can be the leaders and creators of the workplace,” Jordan said.