Clancy DuBos: Close Jefferson Parish tax vote for teacher raises proves every vote counts

By Clancy DuBos

Source: Gambit

December 12, 2024

If you want proof that every vote counts, check out the results of the Jefferson Parish School Board’s property tax proposition on Dec. 7. The new 10.89-mill tax would have given public school teachers a significant pay raise, but parish voters rejected it by a scant 319 votes, according to complete but unofficial returns.

That’s just over 1 vote per precinct.

The difference between passage and failure came down to Election Day turnout and a lack of support from the Jefferson business community.

Had it passed, the new millage would have increased pay for certified public school teachers in Jefferson by $8,300 and allowed the school board to offer the highest starting salary for teachers in the highly competitive New Orleans area. That’s more than enough fodder for a successful campaign.

Moreover, early voters in Jefferson supported the proposition by a comfortable 1,308-vote margin. In most elections, the early vote telegraphs what to expect on Election Day.

Not this time.

What went wrong?

To put it bluntly, supporters of the proposition failed to turn out their voters in sufficient numbers in precincts where the tax passed on Election Day. A look at precinct-by-precinct returns drives home that point in stark terms.

Overall turnout was a paltry 12.8%, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

The average turnout in precincts that rejected the millage was roughly 14%. In precincts that supported the tax, turnout averaged around 7% — and in some of them, it was less than 5%. That’s pathetic.

Geographically, the millage passed on the West Bank with almost 53% of the vote, but it failed on the more populous East Bank, where more than 56% voted against it.

The easiest thing to do in politics is kill a tax proposal. Passing a tax, especially a new one, is always difficult. Without significant support from a large coalition of business, labor and community interests, even scant opposition can be enough to derail a tax proposition.

Timing is also an important factor, because it can dramatically affect turnout.

Several of those factors sealed the fate of the school board’s proposition. The timing was dicey, because turnout is always low in December elections.

The proposition also failed to garner support from the parish’s two main business groups — the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and the Jefferson Business Council, both of which took no position.

The nonpartisan Bureau of Governmental Research supported the proposition, but BGR’s support doesn’t come with money. Jefferson’s two business groups have political action committees that could have provided crucial financial backing.

The Jefferson Federation of Teachers did its part by leading the effort to convince voters to support the tax. Union members distributed flyers in carpool lanes and canvassed door-to-door — but it wasn’t enough.

Several board members have acknowledged their failure to make the case among voters as well as business leaders. They vow to try again.

They should. And next time, they’ll know exactly where they need to do better.

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