Alameda County voters will decide whether to reauthorize a substantial funding source for the Peralta Community College District during the June 2 California primary election.
The Peralta Colleges Affordable Education Reauthorization Measure, or Measure A, would extend the district’s existing parcel tax starting July 1, 2027 through June 30, 2036. A parcel tax is a form of property tax that is based on the characteristics of a unit of land, instead of its assessed value.
The district’s Board of Trustees approved a resolution in February to put the parcel tax back on the Alameda County ballot for this year’s primary elections.
Measure A would maintain funding without increasing the current local property tax rate. Voters originally approved the tax in 2012 and renewed it in 2018. If the measure were to pass, the district would receive roughly $8 million to pay for educational programs, according to the measure’s text.
“The $8 million goes towards supporting instruction, student services, counseling; all the things that students need to be successful,” Peralta Board of Trustees President Louis Quindlen told The Citizen. Quindlen also serves as a member of the parcel tax measure committee, which oversees campaign fundraising, hiring political consultants and creating the ballot language for parcel tax measures.
The funds cannot be spent on building repairs, maintenance or administrative salaries and cannot be taken by the state.
The Alameda County Registrar of Voters Office received no opposition argument to Measure A, according to the voter guide mailed out before the ballots.
If Measure A passes, it will be the third time voters have approved the parcel tax, which supports the district’s roughly $148.9 million annual general fund budget. The measure requires a two thirds majority vote, or 66% voter approval, to pass.
Derek O’Bar, nursing program class president at Merritt College, signed an argument on the voter information guide in favor of Measure A after doing his own thorough research.
“It’s money we’re already paying, and yet if we stop paying for this, […] that would be devastating for [the] Peralta colleges, but also the entire community,” O’Bar told The Citizen. “Having multiple community colleges in our area does a lot for our local economy. It does a lot for our quality of life.”
O’Bar is an Oakland resident, and will graduate from Merritt on May 18.
In support of Measure A, O’Bar told The Citizen “Peralta has really benefited me. […] I don’t want to close the door on opportunities that I’ve had to people that are behind me.”
According to district officials, if the measure is approved, the funds will be monitored by an independent citizens’ oversight committee and independent financial and performance audits.
Campaign contributions and expenses
Several outside contributors have raised thousands of dollars in support of Measure A.
Friends of Peralta Colleges 2026, the measure committee in support of the parcel tax, reported to have raised $147,605 in contributions and paid $75,002.93 in total campaign expenditures, as of April 18.
Future Flooring Group dba C&S Flooring Systems, Inc. made the largest single contribution to the campaign, with a payment of $75,000. Future Flooring is contracted for $677,809.82 to replace flooring at College of Alameda, Laney College and the district service center over the summer and has received a total of $2,077,415.40 from the district.
The Northern California Carpenters Regional Council and Service Employees International Union (SEIU 1021) both donated $20,000 to the Measure A committee. SEIU 1021 represents classified employees at Peralta and is one of the three unions present at the district.
Campaign consultant Annie Eagan Consulting, Inc. received a total of $63,000 from the Friends of Peralta Colleges 2026 committee. Treasury service provider Deane & Company received $9,111.56. Political consultants, The Lew Edwards Group, received a one-time payment of $13,333.
Due to recent changes to the USPS mail processing system, ballots may not get postmarked the same day they are received. That means ballots returned by mail on June 2 may not be postmarked in time to count. The Peralta district recommends returning mail-in ballots a week early, to ensure enough time for processing.
Ballot boxes will count ballots up to the final day of voting, June 2.
See the maps below for the nearest 24 hour ballot boxes to your home campus:
For more information, visit:
https://www.peralta.edu/measure-a
https://acvote.alamedacountyca.gov/index
Co-Editor in Chief Ivan Saravia contributed reporting to this story.
