Press Release

April 23, 2019

Sherman Oaks, CA – The United Chambers of Commerce Government Affairs Committee took the following position.  

The United Chambers of Commerce has taken a position against the LAUSD Measure EE parcel tax. At the April Government Affairs Committee meeting, both the YES and NO campaigns presented their sides of the issue with plenty of passionate dialogue and rebuttal along with questions and diplomatic answers. 

No one disputes the fact that education is vitally important for the health of our city as today’s students are our future workforce. The school district is continually asking for more and more resources while the student population in LAUSD is shrinking. Facts and figures are telling. Is the district really structured for the students? With a total payroll of 63,576 employees, only 25,430 are K-12 teachers for the 571,855 students in those grades. The entire restricted and unrestricted LAUSD budget for 2018-1019, as stated on their website, is $13.681 billion. 

Mayor Garcetti just proposed a $10.6 billion budget for the entire city of Los Angeles, with 45 departments and bureaus and 4 million people. That strongly suggests that LAUSD has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. It is irresponsible to ask for smaller class sizes, hire more non-teaching positions, be under fiscal watch by the LA County Board of Education, promise raises and incur additional costs, and then ask property owners for more money. 

We all agree that we want to provide a solid, quality education for our children, however, the policies, programs and spending of LAUSD are not getting us there. Taxing us more is not the answer. United Chambers of Commerce, serving the San Fernando Valley, says NO to Measure EE parcel tax on this June 4th ballot.