IRVINE : Activist Challenges Schools Tax ‘Misuse’

Activist Rande King says he will ask the Orange County Grand Jury on Friday to review his allegations that Irvine school officials have misused tax revenue.

King said he has a new weapon in his fight against so-called Mello-Roos property assessments levied by the Irvine Unified School District: a legal opinion from the state Legislature’s own lawyer, which he will give to the grand jury.

King believes the opinion supports his contention that the Mello-Roos taxes are being used to pay for salaries and books in violation of Mello-Roos legislation, he said.

In January, King won a victory of sorts when school officials dismantled a Mello-Roos tax district originally set up to build Brywood Elementary School but used later to support other facilities as well.

During that battle, the 43-year-old King said he discovered another Mello-Roos tax district in the Westpark neighborhood, where millions of dollars in property assessments pay for school salaries and books as well as for construction.

King said he believes the June 30 legal opinion he obtained from state Legislative Counsel Bion Gregory prohibits such non-construction-related use of Mello-Roos tax revenue. Moreover, King said, such expenses go beyond the purposes of the tax district, as listed by law in 1986, when it was created.

A copy of the opinion states that “a local agency may expend funds” for purposes other than those set out in the original district formation documents, but only if the agency adopts a “resolution of consideration.”

King argues that no such resolution was ever adopted.

Paul Reed, Irvine Unified’s deputy superintendent, said he is confident the school district would be vindicated by a grand jury investigation.

“We’ve done nothing wrong,” Reed said. “The district’s resolution of intent is broad enough to cover the expenses we’re paying for. . . . What may be confusing Mr. King is that we do use the money to pay for some certificated employees who are involved in the construction activities. And books are considered a capital expense, just like a building. A ream of paper isn’t because it doesn’t have a long shelf-life. That’s how these things are figured.”