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Los Angeles voters decisively defeated a parcel tax that would have sent $500 million a year to schools, according to听听by the county registrar.

, which would have charged residents within L.A. Unified boundaries 16 cents per square foot of developed property for 12 years, fell more than 20 percentage points below the 66.7 percent voter threshold required for the tax to pass. About听听of the 304,321 voters who cast ballots as of Tuesday night approved the measure, while 54.3 percent opposed.

Voter turnout stood at 12.2 percent of the district鈥檚 2.5 million registered voters 鈥� slightly above average for special elections and surpassing last month鈥檚听.

As the polls closed Tuesday night, United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl听听a group of parcel tax supporters in Boyle Heights that Measure EE marked a win for public education whether it passed or failed. 鈥淭he city of Los Angeles is talking about what it, as the city, can do for public schools,鈥� he said.

L.A. Unified 鈥� along with听UTLA 鈥� had touted the tax as indispensable for securing the lower class sizes and additional nurses, counselors and librarians promised in this winter鈥檚听听teacher contract, which district officials say is unsustainable with current revenue levels. Opponents of the tax cited听听about poor accountability and oversight of taxpayer money.

鈥淎chieving a two-thirds vote is a high bar for a reason, but the fact that we got 54 percent of the vote just shows how thoroughly wrong Measure EE was,鈥� Matt Klink, a spokesman for the Vote No on EE campaign, told LA School Report Wednesday morning.

The district now has to send its 2019-20 budget to county overseers by July 1 鈥� without a new local revenue source. The county has threatened a听听if L.A. Unified can鈥檛听听over the next three years. District projections show L.A. Unified spending听听more than it will take in next year alone and falling some $700 million in the red by 2021-22.

Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County鈥檚 superintendent of schools, wrote in a statement to LA School Report Wednesday that the LA County Office of Education 鈥渋s disappointed鈥� that Measure EE did not pass. 鈥淧ut simply, LAUSD needs to stop spending more than it receives from the state and federal government,鈥� the statement read, adding that 鈥淭he County Office team is committed to continuing to work with LAUSD as they develop the district budget for 2019-20.鈥�

Although L.A. Unified anticipates millions in savings through reductions in听听补苍诲听听costs, Measure EE鈥檚 defeat leaves the district on shaky financial footing as it prepares for the next school year.

What happened?

Passing Measure EE was always an uphill battle.

Parcel taxes aren鈥檛 commonplace. Only about 9 percent of school districts 鈥� most clustered in the Bay Area 鈥� have passed or renewed parcel taxes听. Measure EE would have been L.A. Unified鈥檚 first parcel tax. The only other one that made it to the ballot听听in 2010. Parcel taxes are unique to California, primarily serving as a fallback for cash-strapped districts that aren鈥檛 getting enough funding from the state.

Measure EE proponents hoped the car honks, picketing and social media love that marked January鈥檚 six-day teacher strike would translate to an outpouring of support for the tax. February polling had found that 听of respondents saw some level of need for more investment in L.A. Unified. 鈥淩esidents and voters are more inclined to support the school district today than any time in the past,鈥� Fernando Guerra, a Loyola Marymount University professor, told LA School Report last month.

The 鈥淵es on EE鈥� campaign had enjoyed high-profile backing from Mayor Eric Garcetti 鈥� an instrumental figure in getting the teacher contract approved 鈥� and at least four Democratic presidential candidates. It out-fundraised the opposing 鈥淣o on EE鈥� campaign almost 5 to 1, with more than $9.3 million in outside expenditures, according to city ethics commission听.

But it wasn鈥檛 enough to convince residents who didn鈥檛 trust the district to be a good steward of the parcel tax money.

There was ample skepticism that the $500 million flowing into L.A. Unified鈥檚 general fund annually would be spent on ballooning employee听听instead of in the classroom. There was dissatisfaction with the proposed nine-member听, which was outlined in a school board resolution that critics听听could have been easily ignored. And there was frustration with听听听in the district despite taxpayers鈥� past investments 鈥� five construction bonds totaling $20.6 billion since 1997, for example. The Measure EE tax would have cost most homeowners between听听per year.

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In a recent听听of 400 L.A. Unified potential voters, 44.3 percent said they didn鈥檛 think district students 鈥済et a high-quality education.鈥� About 36 percent said they did.

Legal challenges during the campaign further muddied the water. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association in early May听听claiming that Superintendent Austin Beutner had altered the parcel tax language after the school board approved it 鈥� a change that the organization believed could subject a larger proportion of residents鈥� properties to the tax.

The same organization also听听in late May alleging that L.A. Unified鈥檚 Measure EE advertisements broke campaign finance rules.

What鈥檚 next?

L.A. Unified by July 1 must submit its 2019-20 budget to the county. That budget needs to show the district with a 鈥渞ainy day鈥� minimum reserve of at least 1 percent of its total expenditures for each of the next three years. If it doesn鈥檛, the county has said it would consider installing a听听with 鈥渟tay and rescind power.鈥� This means he or she could rewrite budgets and overturn school board decisions 鈥斕齜ut could not change union contracts.

Less immediately, the district will now also have to find another avenue for covering the third year of the teacher contract, which is slated to cost听$228 million.

Chief Financial Officer Scott Price听听the school board in March that 鈥渨e need to increase revenues.鈥� While Measure EE was L.A. Unified鈥檚 most immediate shot at new funding, the district has been trying to save money. Its planned central office reductions will save听听over two years, and a newly implemented Medicare plan will shave听听a year off L.A. Unified鈥檚 more than $1 billion yearly health care bill. The district is anticipating some extra funding as well听, though that budget isn鈥檛 final yet.

L.A. Unified will also once again ask the state to waive a $105 million penalty on districts that have too many administrators compared with teachers, and pursue potential real estate sales or leasing opportunities that could generate $100 million, Price noted at the March board meeting.

Jackie Goldberg, the听听board member,听听LA School Report before her election that reviewing the budget was one of her top priorities. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to sit down with the budget folks and tell them what I understand the budget to be and hear what they think it is, so that we can begin to reconcile some of the differences of opinion about what state the budget鈥檚 in,鈥� she said.

L.A. Unified could try for another parcel tax down the line. If it鈥檚 during a main election year, like 2020, voter turnout could be higher. There is also a statewide听听split roll tax initiative on the ballot in November 2020. If approved by voters, it would tax commercial and industrial property according to their market value, raising an additional $6 billion to $10 billion a year, according to the Legislative Analyst鈥檚 Office. An estimated听听would be allocated to K-12 schools and community colleges in L.A. County.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to keep going forward鈥� if we fail on EE, Beutner had听听before Tuesday鈥檚 vote. 鈥淏ecause we have the broadest, deepest, most diverse coalition in support of public education in a generation.鈥�

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