Court case could mean more local school cuts

Christine Carrillo

It’s just too big to fathom.

It’s impossible to prepare for.

It’s yet another threat to the already strained pocketbooks of the

Newport-Mesa Unified School District and the Coast Community College

District.

A pending court case against Orange County, charging that its

practice of property value assessment has been inconsistent with

Proposition 13, could cost Newport-Mesa about $16.7 million and the

college district about $8.7 million

Right now, those numbers are too much to digest, officials said.

“It will have implications for the entire state of California,”

said Paul Reed, assistant superintendent for business services at

Newport-Mesa Unified. “It’s not something that any individual entity

can fix. There’s nothing you can do. You don’t prepare for it by

hiding under the desk.”

While now in the appeals process, the case, which originated in

Seal Beach, seeks payback from the county for the readjustments in

property tax assessments by 5% or 10% in a single year rather than

the 2% limit established by the proposition. A Superior Court has

ruled in favor of the Seal Beach plaintiff.

“This case is huge and a lot more than we can handle,” said C.M.

Brahmbhatt, vice chancellor for fiscal affairs at college district.

In addition to the initial refunds required from each district,

taxpayers would see annual reductions of $6.6 million for

Newport-Mesa and $3.4 million for Coast.

Since the effect the court decision could have on each district is

nearly impossible to assess at this time, college and Newport-Mesa

school officials, already grappling with the effects of a state

budget crisis, have left their fate in the hands of the state.

“We don’t know exactly how the state is going to react,”

Brahmbhatt said. “In a K through 12 [school system], there is a state

provision ... that if there are any property tax losses, that [the

state] will provide more support for those schools. For the community

colleges, that is not the case.”

An appeal of the case could take years, officials said. With the

involvement of the state inevitable, district officials agree that

there’s nothing to do now but wait.

In Newport Beach, the ruling could mean the city would have pay

back $5.7 million in property taxes and would collect $2.3 million

less each year.

* CHRISTINE CARRILLO covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at christine.carrillo@latimes.com.