Measure E: Voters asked to approve parcel tax as Mill Valley School District warns of teacher cuts

Strawberry Point Elementary School could lose as many as one in four teachers if Mill Valley voters reject a parcel-tax measure on the June 2 ballot, the school district’s superintendent says.

Measure E asks voters to replace the Mill Valley School District’s existing parcel tax with a new combined levy of $1,754 per parcel per year, beginning July 1 and lasting through June 30, 2034. The measure combines two components: a renewal of the district’s primary parcel tax, currently assessed at $1,520 per parcel, and a restoration of Measure B — a supplemental $234 levy that voters approved in 2012 for an eight-year term and expired in 2021 — being restored at its original rate, with no adjustment for the years it lapsed.

Proponents argue the combined levy is essential for maintaining the district’s schools; opponents say the 5% annual increase will prove too costly over time.

According to the county’s impartial analysis, the tax would generate about $14.9 million annually — roughly one-quarter of the district’s $58 million budget. Because it is a special tax, Measure E requires approval from two-thirds of voters to pass.

The central disagreement is over timing and cost.

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Supporters say Measure E is needed now to protect stable school funding, preserve educational quality and prevent future budget disruption.

Opponents say the district should return with a revised measure that grows more slowly — specifically at 3% annually instead of 5% — and that voters should reject the current version in favor of a more affordable proposal later.

The rate of $1,754 holds for the measure’s first year; a 5% annual adjustment begins July 2027. The seven annual increases would bring the rate to roughly $2,468 by 2034.

If approved, Measure E would take effect July 1, 2026, and remain in place for eight years. If it fails, the district’s current parcel tax would remain in effect until June 30, 2029, unless changed by a future election.

The district’s board of trustees voted 4-0 Feb. 12 to place the measure on the ballot.

“This parcel tax will be a game changer for this community,” Natalie Katz, president of the school board, said at the meeting. “I want to make sure people are reminded of the value that public schools bring to Mill Valley.”

In an interview, district Superintendent Elizabeth Kaufman called the measure critical to the district’s educational mission.

“The parcel tax is essential to maintaining the quality of education our community expects,” she said. “It supports excellent teachers, strong academic programs and the resources our students need to succeed. Strong schools benefit not only our students, but the entire community.”

What Measure E would do

District officials say the funding would be used to attract and retain qualified teachers; support academic programs in reading, writing, science, technology, engineering and math; preserve prekindergarten education for 4-year-olds; and maintain class sizes and student support services.

The measure would continue exemptions for qualifying homeowners, including residents age 65 or older, people receiving Supplemental Security Income for a disability and people receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, subject to federal income guidelines. Ballot materials also state that the tax would include independent oversight, annual audits and local control, with funds remaining in the district.

In the official argument in favor, supporters describe the measure not as a new tax but as a renewal of long-standing local funding that has supported the district since 1987, representing nearly one-quarter of its budget. They point to state test results as evidence the funding has been well spent: 83% of district students met or exceeded standards in English on 2024-25 assessments, compared with 62% countywide and 49% statewide.

If the measure fails, supporters warn, the district could lose about $12.7 million annually — the amount the existing primary parcel tax generates — resulting in teacher layoffs, larger class sizes and cuts to academic programs and support services. The campaign says failure could mean eliminating more than 35 positions, class sizes growing to 30 or more students with grades combined, and the prospect of school closures or consolidations.

Measure E would keep funding under local control, continue senior exemptions and prohibit proceeds from being used for administrators’ salaries, supporters say. The ballot argument — though not the measure text itself — also pledges the funds would not go to pension costs.

In their rebuttal to opponents, supporters say the district has used a 5% annual adjustment for 18 years and argue the proposal is necessary to keep pace with rising costs and remain competitive in hiring teachers.

The measure has drawn endorsements from U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, the League of Women Voters of Marin County, the Marin Democratic Party, the Marin Association of Realtors, the Mill Valley City Council and every school PTA and Parent Teacher Student Association in the district, including the Strawberry Point School PTA.

Mill Valley Mayor Max Perrey said the measure speaks to what defines the community.

“A thriving public school system centering quality education starting in the early years of life ensures our kids are set up for success,” he said by email. “I strongly support Measure E — without which our children’s holistic educational experience will be in doubt.”

Strawberry Point School could be affected, district says

Kaufman said parcel-tax funding makes up a significant share of the district’s budget and is closely tied to staffing levels.

“These funds cover 25 percent of our budget and nearly all of the funds go to teachers,” she said. Referring to Strawberry specifically, she added, “When considering Strawberry, you could imagine the impact of the loss of a parcel tax as a 25 percent reduction in teachers for the school.”

Kaufman said the district is seeking to act before the current measure runs its course.

The district has already cut more than 40 staff positions in recent years as state funding has declined and emergency federal COVID-19 aid has expired, according to the campaign.

Kaufman said rising enrollment, especially at the transitional kindergarten and kindergarten levels, has added new financial pressure on the district. Supporters say elementary enrollment has risen 8% districtwide.

“With increasing enrollment, due in large part to demand for our district at the TK and kinder(garten) level, we have added 12 new fully staffed classes for the 2026-2027 school year,” Kaufman said.

That comes with a price tag.

“The budget impact of these classes is about $3.1 million, creating a deficit we must address by passing the measure now or making cuts next school year,” she said.

That growth comes without additional state aid. The school district is a “basic aid” district, meaning local property-tax revenues exceed what the state would otherwise provide, so Sacramento contributes just over 10% of its budget. More students do not mean more state dollars.

Marin’s supervisor for Southern Marin, Stephanie Moulton-Peters — who signed the official argument in favor of Measure E — said schools rely on local funding. In response to opponents’ argument that tax hikes hurt pocketbooks, she said personnel costs occupy a special category.

“Nearly 90% of the district’s budget comes from local funding, and our property-tax growth is down, so school funding is threatened,” she said. “Schools are in the ‘people business’ and need to account for the full cost of attracting and retaining strong teachers and staff — those costs are rising at a much faster rate than the cost of consumer goods.”

The district serves about 2,400 students at Strawberry Point and five other schools — Edna Maguire, Old Mill, Park and Tam Valley elementaries and Mill Valley Middle School. Its boundaries include incorporated Mill Valley and the unincorporated communities of Strawberry, Tamalpais Valley, Alto, Almonte, Homestead Valley and Muir Beach.

The case against Measure E

The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers, a Marin taxpayer advocacy organization that authored the official ballot argument against the measure, argues Measure E asks too much — and that its 5% annual escalator is the core problem.

“The fundamental problem is that taxpayers’ income growth on average doesn’t exceed 3% annually,” said Mimi Willard, the coalition’s president. “A parcel tax growing 5% a year becomes more and more unaffordable over time.”

In their ballot argument, opponents say the parcel tax would rise from $1,448 — the rate they describe as the current levy — to about $2,468 by 2034, a roughly 70% increase over eight years. The ballot language, however, puts the current primary tax rate at $1,520; measured from that baseline, the increase represents a roughly 62% rise. The coalition calculated the cumulative eight-year cost at $16,749 per parcel and said a 3% escalator would save ratepayers nearly $1,150 over the same period. Under Measure E, it said, Mill Valley’s school parcel tax would become the costliest in Marin County by 2034.

Willard said the burden falls hardest on three groups. Young residents hoping to buy a home face a compounding stack of local taxes that is pricing them out of the county. Mid-career homeowners in their 50s and early 60s are simultaneously saving for retirement and managing college costs. Seniors, though eligible for exemptions, risk losing friends and family who cannot afford to stay.

“Seniors can get stranded on the island, aging in place without close friends and relatives,” she said.

On the question of timing, Willard said the district has room to return with a better proposal.

“(The district) has four more statewide election opportunities before the current parcel tax expires,” she said. “Ample opportunities to put forward a more reasonable proposal.”

Opponents place the measure within what they describe as a wave of local tax requests Marin voters face this year, arguing residents should be selective.

“Young adults who grew up in Mill Valley can’t afford to live here. Others can’t afford to stay,” they write in their official ballot argument. “Approving every tax makes matters worse for everyone — including renters, to whom tax increases are passed along and seniors who lose precious friends and family to unaffordability.”

Also on the June 2 ballot is the Measure B Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit sales-tax extension, asking voters to continue the transit agency’s existing quarter-cent levy for 30 years. Opponents also point to measures that could appear on the November ballot, including a Marin Healthcare District parcel tax, countywide childcare-services parcel tax, Tamalpais Union High School District parcel tax, Mill Valley Municipal Services Tax and a potential $115 million Reed Union School District facilities bond — which would affect property owners in Tiburon, Belvedere and Corte Madera — that the Reed board is weighing for November.

“It’s a tax tsunami that will likely continue in 2028,” Willard said.

Reach Belvedere, Strawberry and public-safety reporter Tyler Callister at 415-944-4627.