While more than 60 percent of West Contra Costa voters favored a parcel tax to help fund schools, Measure M didn't garner the two-thirds support it needed to pass Tuesday.

Measure M would have taxed residents $7.20 per square foot of property, or about $108 a year for a 1,500-square-foot building, regardless of whether the property is zoned residential or commercial (owners of vacant properties would have paid only $7.20 a year). Properties that were already exempt wouldn't have been charged, and homeowners over the age of 65 would have been exempt.

The measure would have dedicated funding for "manageable class size" in core academics, like math and science, as well as put money back into arts and music programs, attraction and retention of teachers, improve campus safety and cleanliness and prepare students for college and the workforce, according to an impartial analysis of the measure from the county's attorney (attached as a PDF, it starts on page 50).

Proponents said that West Contra Costa Unified School District needed the money to counteract cuts in state funding. District Superintendent Bruce Harter wrote on the district's website that the school district is in its worst financial situation since its bankruptcy filing in the early '90s.

"According to state statute, WCCUSD should be receiving $6,390 per pupil in base revenue for 2010-11," Harter wrote. "But state budget cuts to education have taken $1,440 per pupil."

The parcel tax measure would have brought in an additional $9.7 million each year, according to newspaper accounts.

Opponents, however (including the Contra Costa Times), pointed to the last bond measure voters passed just six months ago to fund new school construction, bringing the total bonds in the county to a staggering $1.27 billion.

From the Times:

Residents already pay two additional parcel taxes, one $72 per parcel, the other 7.2 cents per square foot. Residents also pay to retire bonds on one of the state's largest school construction programs. Measure M would raise total property tax supplements for schools in the near future from $900 annually to $1,008 for a small house, and from $1,692 to $1,872 for a large house. Measure M would expire in 2015. Last spring, when we endorsed the district's latest bond measure, we said that would be it. We're surprised that the school board is coming back now for an additional parcel tax. The district shouldn't be asking for both in one year. Recommendation: No.