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'Measure A' Secret Data Provider Revealed

Proponents here of a fair and progressive school parcel tax, instead of Measure A, which gives big corporations in Alameda a big tax break at the expense of homeowners and renters, revealed today that SCI Consulting Group, of Fairfield, California is the provider of secret data that the Alameda Unified School District based the Measure A parcel tax structure on. Despite repeated requests, neither citizens nor local news media have been able to get a copy of the data that shaped AUSD's decision to put a 32 cent/square foot parcel tax on the March 8th ballot.

Leland Traiman, of the Committee Against Measure A in Alameda said, "On January 4th, 2011, AUSD Superintendent Kirsten Vital told attendees at a Rotary club meeting that she cannot make the database available on the Internet, because it's not their data and it is proprietary. Proprietary means 'secret.'"

According to Connie Rux, the editor of the Alameda Journal, AUSD representatives told her that she could purchase a copy the AUSD database from Parcel Quest, an online data provider. However, as confirmed by Mr. Traiman, it would cost several thousand dollars for a copy of a database of Alameda properties from Parcel Quest, and in any event, AUSD used data from SCI Consulting Group, not Parcel Quest.

AUSD's acknowledgement of SCI Consulting Group as the source of their database is buried in a September 2010 presentation to the Board of Trustees. In the last slide of the presentation, AUSD identifies SCI as the source of the database for the parcel tax.

"This is important," continued Traiman, "because we also compiled our own parcel database, and came to very different conclusions from AUSD. Without being able to see the same data that AUSD based their tax structure on, nobody can evaluate if it will generate the amount of revenue they say it will. AUSD should have used a data source they could make available to the public, under the California Public Records Act."

According to the AUSD presentation, "SCI provides year-round special tax assessment administration services for school districts and public agencies throughout California. SCI currently administers over 400 assessment and special tax districts."

A recent study published by Pepperdine University showed that the Alameda Unified School District has increased its spending on outside consultants by 76% in recent years.

About the Committee Against Measure A in Alameda
The Committee Against Measure A in Alameda is a group advocating for a fair and progressive parcel tax for Alameda schools, combined with honest restructuring in line with the calls for school restructuring from President Obama and California Governor Jerry Brown.