The Redwood City School District, in the midst of a Parcel Tax election to backfill shortages in state funding, may be the beneficiary of more property tax dollars from the Sequoia Healthcare District. The item is on the agenda for the Board’s April meeting. Web Link . It would appear that RCSD’s $25,000 annual investment in RWC 2020 is paying off.

Who is RWC 2020?

RWC 2020 is comprised of 7 core partners, each shelling out $25,000/year for membership. RWC 2020 Core Partners for 2011-2012 are listed as:

Redwood City Elementary School District

City of Redwood City

County of San Mateo – Human Services Agency and Health System

Sequoia Union High School District

John W. Gardner Center For Youth and Their Communities, Stanford University

Sequoia Healthcare District

Kaiser Permanente

According to the RWC 2020 website Web Link they “…bring together key public and private organizations in our community in ongoing efforts to ensure the health and success of all children, youth and families served by the Redwood City School District.”

It appears that the Sequoia Healthcare District is the “cash cow” for this endeavor. After the Grand Jury in 2001 suggested that they lacked voter approval to spend property taxes collected for a hospital they no longer owned, for “philanthropic “ activities, they became a target for local government predators. With current assets >$20,000,000/year and income >$10,000,000/year, the competition is heating up.

San Mateo County grabbed a $1.35 Million/year, 5 year grant for the Children’s Health Initiative which subsidizes health insurance for families with income 400 times the poverty level. And, the County also garnered a multi-million deal supporting the Fair Oaks Medical Clinic.

The Sequoia and Redwood City school districts and others, have nurses paid for by the Healthcare District. This subsidy is now part of the Healthcare District’s multi-million dollar Healthy Schools Initiative. The John W. Gardner Center For Youth and Their Communities, Stanford University is a beneficiary of this Program.

Redwood City receives some of the largesse for the Veteran’s Memorial Senior Center and Police Activities.

The unanswered question ,“Would dissolution of the District result in more tax dollars reaching these agencies” may be resolved in the November election for two seats on the Sequoia Healthcare District Board of Directors.