With all precincts reporting, Measure EE, a 16-cent per square foot parcel tax that aimed to raise as much as $500 million per year for the Los Angeles Unified School District, received 45.7% percent of the vote on June 4, well short of the two-thirds support it needed to pass.

Despite support from local elected officials and a presidential candidate, Measure EE failed to get the two-thirds approval it needed at the ballot box on June 4. (photo by Cameron Kiszla)

The measure, which rose out of complaints during the January strike by Los Angeles teachers, was supported by public officials including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti; Mayor Pro Tempore Lindsey Horvath of West Hollywood, where students attend LAUSD schools; presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who traveled to Los Angeles to campaign for the tax; and LAUSD board Vice President Nick Melvoin, 4th District.

Supporters say Measure EE could have raised $6 billion over its 12-year term to reduce class sizes, fund arts and science programs, and add support staff including school nurses, counselors and librarians.

In a June 5 statement, Melvoin said he hopes the coalition of Measure EE supporters “doubles down on our efforts to support our schools.”

“Let’s ensure that yesterday is not the end, but just the beginning of a united front – one that must turn our eyes to Sacramento and Washington to demand that they invest in our district’s students,” he said.

Melvoin also bemoaned the low voter turnout, which could doom the measure, according to a poll conducted last month by Probolsky Research, a self-described independent, non-partisan polling firm based in Newport Beach. In many areas, Measure EE was the only item on the ballot.

About 304,000 people voted in the June 4 election, well short of the approximately 2.5 million registered voters the LA School Report, an online news site covering local education, says the district contains.

Measure EE opponents, including multiple business and real estate groups, celebrated the election results. They said they were being unfairly targeted by the square-footage-based tax and there was a lack of oversight in how the money would be spent.

Maria Salinas, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce – an opponent of the tax – said in a statement that the election results show Angelenos want “absolute accountability and oversight” for money raised by taxes like Measure EE. She added that the chamber wants to build a coalition to find a way to support public education that works for all stakeholders.

“We don’t see this as an end, but rather the beginning of a new collaborative chapter in finding ways to meet LAUSD’s financial need … and guaranteeing its immediate and long-term success,” Salinas said.

After the polls closed Tuesday night, Measure EE supporters gathered at the Yes on EE Campaign Headquarters in Boyle Heights, where Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of the teachers’ union United Teachers Los Angeles, said “whatever happens with the results, this is a win” because Angelenos are talking about how public schools could be improved.

“We knew when we started this that this was a heavy lift. Trying to get 66.7% is a heavy lift. But we did not shy away from that. Why not? Because it’s for our students and it’s for the city of L.A. and the future of L.A.,” he said.

Garcetti said whether Measure EE passed or failed, he and other community leaders would continue to work on behalf of Los Angeles schools and students.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Garcetti said.