Wilmar school tax on November ballot

The measure would raise $53,000 for Wilson School.|

Voters in the Wilmar Union School District are being asked to extend a $50 per year parcel tax that would raise money for core academic programs and technology upgrades at Wilson Elementary, the only school in the district.

Measure C on the Nov. 3 ballot would extend by eight years a parcel tax that voters originally approved in 2004. It is expected to raise $53,000 annually toward books and technology in the classroom, keeping the library open, maintaining counseling services and protecting reading, writing, math and science programs, according to the measure’s backers.

“In reality, it’s about bringing more resources to the district,” said Eric Hoppes, superintendent of the district and principal of Wilson School. “The money supports better and more well-rounded education at Wilson School.”

Hoppes said in past years, money from the parcel tax has been well-spent, including $15,000 for the library, $4,600 for the music program, $9,000 for counseling and $26,000 for technology training. Tech hardware, paid for from the district’s general fund, includes a computer lab, 30 iPads and 40 Chromebooks for 5th and 6th graders.

Rick Warner, president of the Wilmar School Board, which is backing the measure along with the Wilmar Volunteer Fire Department, said the tax measure helps the district avoid having to make cuts.

“We’ve found ourselves having to cut back here and there in the past,” he said. “We had furlough days. There have been economic challenges to maintaining services.”

There has been no public opposition to the measure. The Sonoma County Taxpayers Association is not taking a position on the measure, said Dan Drummond, the group’s executive director.

The 1,900 registered voters in the mostly rural school district west of Petaluma have been generous to the 240-student school in recent years. The original parcel tax voters adopted in 2004 was $45 per year. By a 76 percent margin, voters in 2008 extended the tax by eight years and added $5. In 2012, voters approved $4 million in bonds, which the district used to upgrade security, rehabilitate a sewer line, build a new entryway and improve facilities at the 57-year-old school.

Measure C, requiring a two-thirds vote to pass, will not provide money for building maintenance or administrative salaries, according to the proponents. Property owners 65 or older are exempt from paying the tax.

School board member Doug Hecker said the district’s plan to increase technology in the classroom with the tax proceeds is a good investment.

“It’s great that Wilson School is trying to move forward and become more technology-based,” he said. “It’s a good foundation to have at a young age. An investment in technology is an investment in the future.”

Measure C is one of only three Sonoma County items on the ballot in a quiet off-year election that includes a Cotati-Rohnert Park School District parcel tax and a Camp Meeker park district election.

The only polling place in the Wilmar School District, Wilson Elementary School at 3775 Bodega Ave., will be open Nov. 3 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com. On Twitter @MattBrownAC.)

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