Measuring S’s Property Tax Impact

Though I appreciate Lou Segal’s involvement in local schools and his intelligence, I do not agree with the picture he paints of likely future financial scenarios upon passage of Measure S, the Santa Barbara City College bond.

He is wrong on one important factual detail, in particular. The likely future annual rate of property tax increase under Measure S in the district is projected to be 3.75 percent. This is less than the increase will likely be. Indeed, as a result of property tax revenue increases in the SBCC district above what was projected in Measure V, it is possible that the tax rate for Measure V will be decreased.

Santa Barbara City College is a great institution. More local high school students attend it as a proportion of all local high school students than perhaps any community college. It is emphatically a local school. In granting it its number one community college status in the United States, the Aspen Institute noted SBCC’s “rich array of resources — and high expectations — for traditionally underserved students,” and SBCC’s “unusually strong partnership with local high schools.”

Measure S is intended to ensure that Santa Barbara City College’s future will be as bright as its past. Vote “yes” on Measure S.