LAUSD looks at parcel tax

Facing a budget deficit of more than a half-billion dollars for 2012-13, Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy today proposed a parcel tax for the November ballot as a way to head off cuts he said would decimate the nation's second-largest school district.Barbara Jones in the Daily News,

Presenting an update on the impacts of the proposed state budget Deasy said the district has already accrued a deficit of $543 million for the new school year because of deferrals in state funding over the last five years.

That shortfall could grow by as much as $278 million if voters defeat a plan by Gov. Jerry Brown to salavage public education through a sale-tax hike and higher income taxes for Californians earning more than $250,000.