Voters narrowly support upping parcel tax for Los Gatos, Saratoga high schools

Early returns show measure barely has necessary two-thirds vote.

The outcome of a special election to more than double a parcel tax for Los Gatos and Saratoga residents was too close to call as of press time on May 14.

Voters in the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District were asked via mail-in balloting whether an annual parcel tax that helps fund the district should increase from $49 to $128. If approved, the additional funds would support the district’s efforts to retain its faculty and staff and support its career and college preparedness programs and academic offerings.

On Tuesday the measure was passing with 66.7% of vote, just barely over the two-thirds vote the district needs for the increase to go into effect. Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties saw a voter turnout of 28.18% and 29.12%, respectively.

The district’s current parcel tax is set to expire in 2025. Board president Misty Davies said at a recent meeting that the district would actually need a $337 parcel tax to raise salaries to adequately compete with neighboring districts, but polling indicated that more than $128 would be unlikely to pass.

If the measure fails to pass, the district will need to put the parcel tax back on the ballot in November. And to avoid the possibility of voters rejecting the parcel tax outright, which could result in severe budget cuts for the district, trustees said they will then likely ask voters to renew the existing $49 parcel tax this November instead of increasing it. None of the funds from the parcel tax can be put toward salaries or benefits for administrators.

Tricia Webber, the Santa Cruz County clerk, said the county will certify the election results by May 22. Santa Clara County plans to certify its results for the special election by June 6, according to the county’s Registrar of Voters.

Trustees said the increased parcel tax will help retain the district’s faculty, who are increasingly being drawn to neighboring high school districts’ that can offer higher starting salaries.

“When we look at where we are right now and then we look at how competitive some districts are, we really feel like we need to do a better job,” trustee Katherine Tseng said.

The $49 parcel tax has been in place since 2011, and it was renewed in 2016 for eight years. Tseng said the current parcel tax was approved after three failed attempts over the course of 20 years. She said polling that the district conducted in previous years has revealed that voters wouldn’t be receptive to a parcel tax increase until now.

The district will cover the cost of the special election. Similar special elections have cost around $800,000.

The costs of administering the election in the two counties have yet to be finalized, but a spokesperson for the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters said it is estimated at $724,000-$1,086,014. Webber said the full cost for Santa Cruz County will be determined after the results are certified, but will likely be around $7 to $8 for each of the county’s 3,689 registered voters who reside in the high school district’s boundaries.

The public schools in Los Gatos and Saratoga have long been a draw for new residents. But Jen Young, president of the district’s teachers association and a math teacher at Los Gatos High School, said the teachers who deliver this quality education have been in need of higher salaries due to rising cost of living for some time now.

What’s kept teachers in the district, Young said, has been its positive work culture and environment. But as the cost of living continues to increase, that sense of community is no longer enough to retain the faculty that the district prides itself on, she said.

Trustee Alex Shultz said that for residents thinking about selling their homes in the future, the increased parcel tax is an investment in property values, as more funds to attract and retain high-quality teachers in the district will make the area even more attractive to live in.

“When you go to sell your house, if we can keep the schools strong and attractive, you’ll get every penny of whatever you put into it times 10,” Shultz said. “It’s actually, I think, more of an investment than a tax.”

The special election also comes during a teacher shortage, which Shultz said has been amplified in the Bay Area because cost of living is already high. Census data from 2022 shows that median income is $198,117 in Los Gatos and $237,730 in Saratoga, but the starting salary for teachers during the current academic year in the district is just $66,248.

Shultz said he and Tseng had been speaking with members of the community and knocking on doors to encourage people to vote in advance of the mail-in deadline, and heard anecdotally that residents support the increase.

“Overwhelmingly people are very positive, but you don’t know whether they’re just telling you what you want to hear,” he said.