Measure HH is a parcel tax in Lakeside Joint School District. The district straddles Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties in the Santa Cruz Mountains. (Brian Holden — Contributed) 

HH – Lakeside Joint School District parcel tax – 2/3 to pass

Chart tallies Santa Cruz and Santa Clara county results as of 4 p.m. Nov. 19.

SUMMIT >> A parcel tax in Lakeside Joint School District in the Santa Cruz Mountains leaned toward approval with 70.0% of the vote as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19.

Measure HH needs more than 66% of the vote to be adopted. Homeowners 65 and older can apply for an exemption to the parcel tax if it is approved.

Updated results are expected this month. The election must be certified by early December.

The measure would extend a $647 annual parcel tax set to expire in 2025 for another eight years. 

The tax currently brings in about $500,000 annually to the school district, and school district leaders anticipate it would continue. Unlike the current tax, Measure HH would increase the tax by up to 3% annually to keep pace with inflation in the Bay Area Consumer Price Index.

Lakeside Joint School District Superintendent Sean Joyce said during the campaign that the tax pays for unfunded state requirements like free school lunches to all students. It also allows the school to pay competitive wages and reduce staff turnover. 

The $500,000 per year raised by the tax for Lakeside Joint School District could be spent on: 

• Salaries for teachers and staff.
• Mental health services for students. 
• Academic programs such as reading, writing, math, science and technology programs, art, music, physical education, gardening and outdoor education, and middle school students’ instruction at schools outside the district. 

Lakeside Joint School District has one school near the Lexington Reservoir that educates about 100 students. 

Superintendent Joyce said that if Measure HH is not adopted and the existing parcel tax expires, the district’s budget would lose about 20% of its funding. 

The school would not immediately close, Joyce said. But layoffs could lead to a cycle of declining school performance and more parents leaving the district, he said. “Eventually the school would close, without a doubt,” he said.

A resident has alleged voter fraud the Measure HH race. Voters must live in the district to vote in the race. A landowner in the district said he encouraged those who own land in the district but do not live there to vote against the measure.

A sign for Yes on Measure HH on Summit Road on Nov. 5. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local)

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