Voters in the Hope School District decide fate of parcel tax

Voters within the Hope School District boundaries in Santa Barbara are mulling over a parcel tax on the primary ballot.

Measure S-2018 entails a $79 dollar tax, per parcel, for five years. Funding would benefit the District’s three elementary schools: Hope, Monte Vista, and Vieja Valley.

“At max, it would bring in $360 thousand dollars to the District,” said Hope School Superintendent Anne Hubbard.

Hubbard told NewsChannel 3 that a parcel tax is an effective way to bring in extra funding and is popular in Northern California. On the high end, voters in the Santa Cruz School District approved a $647 dollar parcel tax. On the low end, a $65 dollar parcel tax was approved by voters in Sonoma.

“We’re kind of lost between Goleta and Santa Barbara,” Hubbard said. “We’re this little three school District but showing how our community is truly intimately involved in helping our students succeed.”

Hubbard said Measure S-2018 needs a two-thirds majority to pass.

“It does allow us to do some of the things we’d like to continue doing,” Hubbard said. “Providing a greater adult-to-student ratio, ensuring that we have a strong enrichment program in the arts and music.”

There are special exemptions for those receiving Supplemental Security Income or receiving Social Security Disability insurance benefits.

Hubbard credits a group of eight, made up of parents and grandparents, for spearheading the effort behind Measure S-2018.