As Superintendent of the South Monterey County Joint Union High School District, I have seen firsthand how closely the strength of our schools is connected to the strength of the communities we serve. That is why our Board of Education and I support King City’s Measure P.
It is important to understand what Measure P actually does. King City already has a 1% local sales tax scheduled to expire in 2029. Measure P would reauthorize that tax at 1.5%, an increase of one-half of one percentage point. The total sales tax would go from 8.75% to 9.25%, putting King City in line with most other cities in Monterey County.
One thing I appreciate about a sales tax is that the responsibility does not fall only on people who live within the city limits. People who stop for gas, eat at local restaurants and shop here contribute, too. In fact, the City estimates that approximately 60% of its sales tax revenue comes from people traveling through King City.
I am one of those people. I live in the country, but I buy almost all my gas in King City, eat at local restaurants and sometimes pick up groceries here. The additional half-percent would add just 15 cents to a $30 lunch and about 38 cents to a $75 tank of gas. Most groceries aren’t subject to sales tax. These are very small amounts individually, but combined across thousands of purchases, they provide significant resources for the community.
I have seen why those resources matter. Before I came to King City, my husband, who is retired from law enforcement, knew the city’s longtime reputation for gang activity and violent crime. We had concerns. Then we visited and learned about the tremendous work that had been done to make King City safer.
The results have been significant. Shootings dropped from 32 in 2017 to zero in 2019 following implementation of the City’s Comprehensive Plan to End Youth Violence. When violence increased again following the pandemic, King City brought community partners together to develop the second phase of that plan. I was fortunate to participate and saw firsthand how deeply people here care about keeping young people safe and providing them with opportunities.
That matters to me as an educator. Our students don’t stop being our students when they walk off campus. When they feel safe in their neighborhoods, have positive places to go and know their community is invested in them, they are better able to learn and succeed. Our employees and families also benefit from strong police, fire and emergency services, safe streets and a community where people want to live and work. The City and our schools serve the same children and families, and Measure P would help provide locally controlled funding for those shared needs.
King City today is very different from the community my husband and I had heard about years ago. That progress didn’t happen by accident. It took people investing time, resources and energy in their community, and maintaining that progress will require continued investment and work. I may not live within the city limits, but I benefit from that investment every time I come into town, and I am glad that when I fill my gas tank, have lunch or shop here, I contribute a little toward the community we all share.
Dr. Caroline Cota is the Superintendent of South Monterey County Joint Union High School District, which includes King City and Greenfield high schools, Pinnacle Coastal Valley High School and Portola-Butler Continuation High School.
