The Davis school board will meet Thursday to discuss the details of a proposed parcel tax renewal, hear an update on the district’s changing budget situation and consider four calendar alternatives for the 2012-13 school year.

The board meets at 7 p.m. in the Community Chambers at Davis City Hall, 23 Russell Blvd.

Davis voters will be asked to renew a long-standing parcel tax in a mail-only election concluding March 6. On Thursday, trustees likely will identify the dollar figure of the tax and its duration.

The measure on the spring ballot will renew two parcel taxes — Measures Q and W — that will expire in June. They charge a combined $320 per single-family home per year, and a smaller amount for apartments and other multi-unit dwellings.

In the past, school parcel taxes generally have lasted four years, but trustees are considering an odd-year duration (three, five or seven years) so the renewal elections would occur in even-numbered years.

Measures Q and W generate $6.5 million annually, about 12 percent of the district’s payroll.

Once the trustees have identified the parameters for the tax, staff will prepare an official resolution, which the board is expected to adopt at its Nov. 17 meeting.

On Thursday, the board also scheduled to review and discuss possible budget reductions for the 2012-13 school year. Trustees will focus on:

* What sort of cuts the school district would face if the parcel tax fails in March.

* How to fund programs that have been paid for this year with the $1.5 million in funding from the Obama administration’s federal jobs bill. (That money is now nearly exhausted.)

* The impact of possible reductions in state funding, including “trigger cuts” to the state budget that could occur next month if revenues are lower than those envisioned in the adopted state budget. Also up for discussion is whether the state will make a cost-of-living adjustment for inflation.

* What actions the board should take to address the district’s ongoing structural spending deficit, which has run about $1 million to $1.2 million in recent years.

The school board has used several one-time solutions in recent years; staff is recommending that a longer-term budget strategy be developed.

The board also will look at four calendar alternatives for the 2012-13 school year, with options to begin the school year on Aug. 8, Aug. 22, Aug. 29 or Sept. 4.

During the past two years, several school board trustees have indicated an interest in returning to the traditional start of school on the Tuesday after Labor Day, which would be Sept. 4 next year.

Most school districts in the region begin sometime in August, and at least one district in the Lodi/Stockton area began classes this year in late July.

There are pros and cons to any calendar proposal. Starting the school year Sept. 4 would put the school district somewhat closer to the beginning of the academic year at UC Davis. However, an Aug. 8 start date would end the fall semester before winter break, something certain parents and teachers regard as a desirable goal.

While trustees are expected to discuss the options on Thursday, the calendar will not be finalized until contract negotiations with teachers and classified employees are complete.

Elsewhere on the agenda, the board will:

* Consider a resolution regarding California Retired Teachers Week;

* Hear an update on activities organized by the Davis Bridge Foundation; and

* Continue a public hearing regarding annexation of several properties to Community Facilities District No. 2.

Thursday’s meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Community Chambers at Davis City Hall, 23 Russell Blvd. The meeting will be carried live on Davis cable Channel 17 and as streaming video online at www.djusd.tv.

— Reach Jeff Hudson at [email protected] or (530) 747-8055.

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