LAUSD to vote on dropping parcel-tax plan

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Gov. Jerry Brown was unable to get Molly Munger to drop her tax initiative, but he may be on the verge of keeping another major tax proposal off the ballot.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is reconsidering a parcel tax plan that would cost homeowners within the district an average of about $300 per year for the next five years.

The board placed the measure on the ballot earlier this year, but is having second thoughts after a plea from LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy.

LAUSD spokesman Tom Waldman said the board is scheduled to vote on removing the parcel tax at Tuesday’s meeting. “The thinking is that advocates of increased funding for public education need to focus energy on passing the governor’s initiative,” he said.

Brown has met privately with Deasy on several occasions, a review of his calendars show, and Brown has said publicly he would like to delay any tax vote that would appear on the same ballot as Brown’s sales and upper-income tax hike this November.

Brown’s campaign advisers have said other tax measures on the ballot could jeopardize the chances of the governor’s plan passing.

For the record, 6:29 p.m., June 11: A previous version of this post spelled L.A. Unified spokesman Tom Waldman’s last name as Waldeman.

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