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By Arlene Martinez, amartinez@vcstar.com

The Ventura Unified School District board has rejected the city of Ventura's offer to go in on a joint measure to raise the sales tax by a cent. Instead, the district will try to get voters in November to approve an extension of its $59 yearly parcel tax.

City Manager Mark Watkins said he will recommend the City Council move forward with a half-cent sales tax increase when it meets next week.

In a special meeting Thursday morning, the board voted 3-2 against joining the city, Superintendent Michael Babb said.

"I think members of the board felt like it was a big risk," he said. "We feel like we have a pretty good case to extend the parcel tax."

Board President Barbara Fitzgerald and members Mary Haffner and Debbie Golden voted no.

The city had pitched the idea as a way to generate money for both agencies. Under the proposal, the $21.6 million generated annually would have been split 70-30, giving the district $6.7 million.

The city would have used part of its share to open up school parks and fields to the public after school and on weekends. The rest would have gone to public safety, roads, parks or other needs the city laid out in a needs assessment report.

The district's parcel tax, approved for four years by voters in 2012, brings in around $2.6 million, according to district officials said.

The money is used for technology, art and keeping class sizes smaller. If at least two-thirds of voters approve the extension in November, the money will be used for the same things for the next four years, Babb said.

Though a sales tax measure would have brought in more money, some board members felt uncomfortable with the terms of the nonbinding agreement that spelled out how the money would have been split, Babb said.

They also raised questions over whether it could have withstood a legal challenge. A sales tax measure brings in what is known as "unrestricted money," and it needs a simple majority to pass. When a tax is dedicated, for police or parks, for example, it requires two-thirds of voters to approve it.

Though the district and city could have a memorandum of understanding in place before the election, the final terms of the partnership couldn't be finalized until after the vote.

Ultimately, the board felt there wasn't time to get all those concerns addressed, Babb said.

Watkins said he was disappointed with the board's decision.

"It would have been great to partner and form a partnership, but I fully understand and respect the board's decision," he said. "It was still worth the effort."

The City Council will discuss the half-cent sales tax measure when it meets at 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 501 Poli St.