Poll shows WCCUSD parcel tax renewal short of support needed to pass

West Contra Costa Unified School District's board voted unanimously Wednesday night to put a renewal of its longstanding parcel tax on the November ballot. Its own pollster told trustees that voter support currently falls short of the two-thirds threshold needed to win.

The board approved the resolution after a short public hearing, calling for a November 3 election consolidated with the statewide gubernatorial race. If approved, the measure would renew the existing parcel tax at its current rate of 7.2 cents per building square foot for another nine years, starting in July 2027, raising an estimated $10.2 million a year.

The tax has been in place since voters first approved it in 2004 and renewed it in 2012 and 2016. The current version, Measure T, expires at the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Before the vote, Bryan Godbe of Godbe Research detailed results from a survey of 709 likely voters conducted last November. Support for the measure, after voters heard the full ballot language, started at 62.6 percent. Support rose to nearly 70 percent after voters heard positive arguments for the measure, then dropped back to 61.6 percent once they'd also heard the case against it.

Godbe told the board that averaging those two later tests puts support at 65.8 percent, still under the mark.

"That's not where we need to be for a two-thirds parcel tax measure," Godbe said.

Godbe said the survey tested ways to boost support, including dropping the measure's annual cost-of-living adjustment. That produced a bigger bump than shortening the tax's term did. He also pointed to voters' economic outlook: 62 percent of respondents said last fall they expected the economy to get worse, and Godbe said conditions since then, including higher gas and grocery prices, have only reinforced that pessimism.

Opinion on Future Direction of the Economy

Godbe recommended keeping the rate flat rather than push for an increase.

"I think it is important to be cautious and not try to shoot for the moon," Godbe said. "We think that putting it on the ballot at the same 7.2 cents that it's been is probably the right way to go in this adverse economic climate."

Trustee Leslie Reckler said the measure is filling a gap that state and federal funding doesn't cover.

"Even though you're hearing in the press that there is record funding on education, that is true," Reckler said. "But it's restricted funding streams that are not giving us what we need to run our daily operations. Costs are outpacing what we're getting from the state, and that is just the bottom line."

Reckler pointed to the district's sports programs, including CIF and state football championships, as an example of what the tax has funded, and closed with a direct appeal to voters.

"I'm begging for community support again," she said. "So hopefully, this November, you'll support us and vote yes when you see it on the ballot."

The board voted 5-0 to approve the resolution.

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