LAUSD Board Delays Parcel Tax Vote, OKs Furlough Days For Unions

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — School board members on Tuesday voted unanimously to postpone a vote on a parcel tax that would have funneled millions of dollars to Los Angeles schools.

KNX 1070's Margret Carrero reports the Los Angeles Unified School District board will not ask voters to approve the district-wide tax this November because other tax measures are already on the ballot.

If approved, the proposal would have required property owners to pay an extra $298 a year for five years to raise $255 million to help fund district school operations.

But Superintendent John Deasy said with two other measures on the ballot that would funnel money into school district coffers across the state, a third tax initiative could prove overwhelming to local voters.

Deasy told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO he acknowledges the risk of voters defeating a tax package from Governor Jerry Brown which would help fund education, but said he's willing to take that gamble.

"If it should pass, then we will know the size of the hole, because it doesn't solve all of our problems by any means, it just prevents them from getting worse," he said.

The board also approved a series of agreements with teachers and other labor unions that call for workers to take 10 furlough days during the coming school year to save the jobs of thousands of employees.