The proposed levy is a 69% increase over the expiring levy. What is the justification for increasing the tax by 69%?
The main justification seems to be the City Council’s desire to raise more taxes and spend more money. Even after adjusting for inflation, it’s still a 44% tax increase. But this makes little sense for two reasons • The prior levy programs haven’t been very successful at meeting their objectives • There are fewer students in the public schools now than there were 7 years ago. In fact, as this table shows, the numbers of students considered to be “at risk” — non-whites, low income and limited English — have declined even more than the student body as a whole. The number of elementary students, an indication of future enrollment, has also declined.
