On Tuesday, November 3rd, Culver City residents will vote on Measure AA, a parcel tax measure that hopes to draw education funding for CCUSD schools through a 10 year tax on homes.
Voters are being asked to approve a 0.48 percent parcel tax on the square footage of their homes. For the average-sized home in Culver City, this could work out to $777 per year, and more for larger homes.
A small group of parents collected over 4,000 signatures to achieve what they consider to be a necessary action on the ballot in Culver City, especially when CCUSD remains in a years-long 10 million dollar structural deficit. Since before 2020, students in Culver schools have felt the repercussions of this deficit through the loss of teachers, counselors, and programs. Measure AA hopes to fill these gaps.
California funds schools in a unique way. Districts are given about $18,000 per student from the state, while in comparison, states like New York and New Jersey give close to $33,000. California counts on communities to close that gap through taxes and local initiatives. Culver City has not quite succeeded in past years. In a district with 7 schools, and close to 6,500 students, organizers say taxes like Measure AA are necessary to properly support the thousands that expect more from their education.
“Nobody wants to pay more taxes, but until the state fixes how they fund our schools, this is the only option for the district to have the funding it needs to better serve our schools.” said Amy Hee Kim, a STEM education leader, mom of a 3rd grader in Culver City, and volunteer working with a group of parents towards financial stability in the district.
However, some homeowners are wary of approving yet another tax increase that could cost them hundreds, even thousands a year; especially as costs of living increase and wages plateau.
“We can't control the price of groceries. We can't control the price of gas. We can't control the greedy corporations that are constantly taking our money. But here in California, we CAN control our taxes,” said John Derevlany, a vocal opponent of measure AA on the No on AA website that he runs.
But Measure AA organizers say that, in an economic sense, investing in education is an investment in the community of Culver City. It’s an effective method of raising property values and attracting new residents, as well as bringing more young families into our community for public education.
Hee Kim emphasizes that this money would exclusively be put toward classroom education. This means it would not be spent on construction, or building new facilities, unlike Measure E (on the ballot in 2024) which was a school bond, specifically intended for construction and repairs of aging facilities.
“All of the money will come directly to the schools, and directly into the classrooms…This is going to be used for educational programs, hiring back teachers and counselors, and is not allowed to be used to cover administrators,” said Kim. “It’s really intended to improve education in the classroom.”
At Culver City High School, doing this could allow us to hire more teachers and counselors, make smaller class sizes, and finally have the bandwidth to address math and English deficiencies in CCUSD. We could also have more mental health support for students, and strengthen the AVPA and athletic programs. How the money is spent will be determined by a committee of parents, teachers and community volunteers formed to monitor the spending of the funds collected by the tax and to select what programs, classrooms, and educational areas are most in need of revamping.
Additionally, strong schools are often the best indicator of a strong community. Schools bring people together with events, get community members invested, and can even be linked to lower crime rates when successful. Even for residents without children in CCUSD schools, this measure could have positive ramifications reaching every homeowner and local alike.
For more information on Measure AA, take a look at the Excellence for Culver City School’s pro website, Derevlany’s anti website, or the City of Culver City website for an impartial analysis.