School Board Votes to Take Parcel Tax Case to State Supreme Court

The Alameda school board voted 4-1 in closed session Tuesday night to appeal a recent state Court of Appeal decision declaring the school district's Measure H parcel tax partly invalid and exposing the district to the potential loss of $7.4 million.

The board's vote means the appeal will go to the state Supreme Court, said Kerri Lonergan, administrative assistant to district Superintendent Kirsten Vital. The dissenting vote was cast by board Vice President Trish Herrera Spencer.

The decision to appeal is the latest development in the long-running legal battle in the Borikas v. Alameda Unified School District suit, filed by George Borikas in 2008. Borikas asserted that the district's Measure H parcel tax violated state law requiring school district taxes to "apply uniformly" to all taxpayers and property.

Measure H, adopted by voters in 2008, applied different rates to residential and commercial properties. It expired after three years and was replaced by Measure A, which has withstood legal challenge and is not threatened, according to the district. 

The state Court of Appeal on March 6 ruled, for the second time, the varying rates illegal and ordered the case back to Alameda County Superior Court to determine appropriate remedies.

The district could be obliged to pay about $7.4 million back to taxpayers if the court orders a refund, district officials say. A statement on the school district homepage says, "Approximately $7.4 million in revenues for educational programs and teachers in the District are at risk if the trial court orders refunds."