Alameda schools release reports on how tax money being used

Last week, we at the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) released our 2024-25 parcel tax program reports.

The two reports — a comprehensive staff report and a shorter letter from the district’s Parcel Tax Oversight Committee — provide details on revenues and expenditures for the city’s voter-approved school funding Measures B1 and A, an overview of the district’s parcel tax program and details of the Oversight Committee’s work.

As 2024-25 was the last year that Measures B1 and A were in effect, the staff report also provides information on the cumulative impact of the measures since 2011, when Measure B1’s predecessor (Measure A-2011) took effect. The two measures had raised about $24 million per year since 2020. Measure E, which took effect last July, replaced and renewed Measures B1 and A.

Since 2011, the AUSD’s parcel taxes have contributed more than $229 million to the district. This revenue has directly supported staff and programs that serve the district’s students and supplemented the insufficient funding we receive from the state and federal governments. The revenue has also provided a bulwark against that insufficient funding that, in addition to other factors, has hit some neighboring states particularly hard in recent years.

“AUSD would not be what it is today if not for the significant contributions of our local taxpayers,” district Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi said in a May 15 AUSD announcement. “For more than two decades, the Alameda community has voted to support Alameda students by supplementing the insufficient funding provided by our state and national governments. We are extremely grateful for the community’s generosity and trust.”

Like Measure A-2011, Measure B1 and Measure A-2020, the 2024 Measure E mandates a citizen oversight committee. Such committees are required under law for facility bonds but are unusual for parcel taxes.

“AUSD includes oversight committees in their tax measures to ensure transparency and accountability,” Ryan LaLonde, the AUSD Board of Education’s president, also said in the May 15 announcement. “As a board, we very much appreciate the time and expertise that our community members provide to our parcel tax program. We know that our oversight and reporting are vastly improved by these contributions.”

The district staff and committee’s reports were presented at last week’s May 12 Board of Education meeting and are available onthe  AUSD’s parcel tax program webpage at bit.ly/3RfvBBb.

Reach Susan Davis, the Alameda Unified School District’s senior manager for community affairs, at 510-337-7175 or SDavis@alamedaunified.org.