Poway Unified Admits Some Homeowners Taxed Too Much

Poway Unified's Superintendent John Collins admitted this week that some homeowners have been charged too much, and possibly not enough, in property taxes for school district projects due to building permit errors.

“It has come to our attention that the building permits issued by the City of San Diego contain some instances of incorrect information,“ Collins said in an email to KPBS/inewsource. “I will be working with staff to ensure that we work cooperatively with the city to help them identify any such errors and to make corrections.

A collaborative investigation by the media outlets uncovered over and undercharging of what are called Mello-Roos taxes, a special tax paid by homeowners to offset the costs of development projects such as new schools and school construction. The Poway Unified School District collects such revenue from a number of areas in the district, including portions of Del Sur.

It was in Del Sur where homeowner Michael Tagulao realized he was paying as much as $1,300 more than his neighbors because the city had overstated the square footage of his home, which is used to calculate the tax owed.