October 14, 2020 at 7:26 pm

The Stockton Unified School District Board of Education approved a resolution in support of the countywide Measure X on Tuesday. The measure would institute a tax on cannabis businesses in unincorporated areas of the county, of which 50% of the revenue would go towards education.

The resolution was proposed by Trustees Candelaria Vargas and Lange Luntao, with Kathleen Garcia, AngelAnn Flores, and Scot McBrian joining them in its approval. Trustees Maria Mendez and Cecilia Mendez voted no.

Measure X would tax cannabis businesses in unincorporated areas at 3.5% of sales, with an extra $2 per square foot of cultivation space per year for cultivation businesses. If approved, the San Joaquin Board of Supervisors could raise the sales tax rate up to 8%.

⅔ of voters must vote yes on the measure in order for it to pass. The exact same proposal was on the ballot two years ago as Measure B, but only gained 61.5% of the vote.

Half of the funds from the tax would go to the County Children’s Trust Fund for literacy, drug prevention, home visitation, after-school, and other programs for underserved youth. The other half would be used for public health services, homeless mitigation, and enforcing existing cannabis laws.

There is considerable overlap between Stockton Unified students and the children that would be targeted for programs funded by measure X. Roughly 84% of the district is socioeconomically disadvantaged, and more than a quarter of students are English learners.