Exempt
In the midst of all this Measure H lawsuit craziness, we’ve finally gotten our hands on exemption figures for the measure. Some 2,288 senior homeowners applied and qualified for an exemption from the four-year, $120 a year tax for schools, said Luz Cazares, recently departed chief financial officer for Alameda Unified. That’s a few more than the 2,123 homeowners ages 65 and older who got exemptions from Measure A, the previous parcel tax.
Cazares said the tax will net the district $4.6 million this year. And we’ll note that this depends on what happens in court.
In 2000, Alameda had about 3,900 senior householders, according to census data (we know it’s ancient, but the more recent data’s got a margin of error you could drive a tractor trailer through).
Speaking of Cazares’s departure, the district has hired an interim replacement. It’s Krishna Karpalani, a retired chief financial officer who worked for the Redwood City schools for 23 years. We’ll see if the district can find a permanent person who works as hard as Cazares, who called us at 5:30 p.m. Saturday – the day after her last day – to give us the exemption figures. We wish Cazares the best of luck at Pleasanton Unified, where she’ll serve as Assistant Superintendent for Business Services.
