Measure E: Mill Valley schools funding measure wins strong early support

Mill Valley School District voters are backing Measure E, a parcel tax that would fund roughly a quarter of the district's budget for the next eight years. The initiative would spare Strawberry Point Elementary and the district's other schools from the staffing cuts officials warned would follow a defeat.

Measure E was ahead with 70.37% of the vote in election-night returns, above the two-thirds majority it needs to pass. Of the 4,847 ballots cast across the district's 12 precincts, 3,411 favored the tax, and 1,436 opposed it. The county's elections department posted the results at 11:24 p.m. June 2, and more returns are expected by 5 p.m. June 4.

In the district’s unincorporated areas, which include Strawberry, Measure E led with 67.89% support, with 1,347 votes in favor and 637 opposed across four precincts.

Measure E would replace the district's existing parcel tax with a single combined levy of $1,754 per parcel, beginning July 1 and running through June 30, 2034. It merges two pieces: a renewal of the district's primary parcel tax, now $1,520 per parcel, and a restored $234 levy that voters first approved in 2012 for an eight-year term that expired in 2021. The restored levy would return at its original rate, with no adjustment for the years it lapsed.

The county's impartial analysis estimated the tax would generate about $14.9 million a year, about one-quarter of the district's $58 million budget. The $1,754 rate would hold through the first year, with a 5% annual increase starting July 2027. Seven such increases would push the rate to about $2,468 by 2034.

Supporters argued the tax was needed to protect stable funding, preserve educational quality and head off budget disruption. Without it, they warned, the district could lose more than 80 positions, the equivalent of closing two of its elementary schools. At Strawberry Point Elementary, Superintendent Elizabeth Kaufman said the loss could mean a 25% cut in teachers there.

Opponents, led by the Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers, which wrote the official ballot argument against the measure, said it asked too much too fast. They urged the district to return with a measure that grows more slowly, at 3% a year instead of 5%, and argued voters should hold out for a cheaper proposal.

Mimi Willard, the coalition's president, said the burden falls hardest on three groups: young residents priced out of the county by stacking local taxes; mid-career homeowners in their 50s and early 60s juggling retirement savings and college costs; and seniors who, though eligible for exemptions, risk losing friends and family who cannot afford to stay.

If it passes, Measure E would take effect July 1 and run for eight years.

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