As reported by the lbpost.com last night around 11:00pm, Long Beach voters yesterday failed to approve Measure T, which would have green-lighted an annual $92 parcel tax for five years to fund the Long Beach Unified School District, which has cut more than $100 million from its budget over the next two years to deal with massive budget shortfalls passed down from the state of California. Measure T required a two-thirds voter approval for passage, but did not reach even a simple majority and received just 43.11% approval.
Yesterday’s election tallied 13,823 votes for “Yes,” and 18,238 votes for “No,” meaning 32,061 total votes were cast.
The LBUSD has released a statement acknowledging the loss of the measure. From LBUSD superintendent Chris Steinhauser:
The voters have spoken, and we respect their decision. But the fact remains that we have a $90 million hole in our budget. We have some tough decisions ahead, but we ll find a way to balance our budget and give our students the best education possible with the resources we have.
– Chris Steinhauser, Superintendent of Schools, Long Beach Unified School District
Disclosure: lbpost.com publisher Shaun Lumachi is a consultant to the Parents, Teachers and Taxpayers for Safer Schools – Yes on Measure T campaign.