The development of a teacher salary parcel tax: The quality teacher and education act in San Francisco

In June 2008, the voters of San Fran-cisco, with a 69.8 percent majority, approved a parcel tax authorizing San Francisco Uniἀed School District (SFUSD) to collect $198 per parcel of taxable property annually for 20 years. Ḁese revenues add up to over $500 per student per year1 and will be used to fund a general increase in teacher salaries, as well as a number of changes in teacher compensation and support for school improvement initiatives, such as technology and charter schools. Figure 1 shows the ἀnal break-down of the funding provided through Proposition A of 2008, also called the Quality Teacher and Education Act (QTEA).