Poll: Cautious support to renew parcel tax for Tam district schools

The Tamalpais Union High School District is eyeing a nine-year parcel-tax renewal for the November ballot, and early polling shows the measure hovering near the two-thirds approval threshold needed to pass.

The district’s existing parcel tax, passed by voters in 2020, is set to expire in June 2029. Under that tax, all property owners within district boundaries — which includes the Tiburon Peninsula — pay a set rate annually. The tax is currently at $544 for fiscal year 2025-2026 and carries a 3% automatic cost-of-living escalator that takes effect each July. That escalator will raise the tax to $560 beginning this July, $577 in fiscal year 2027-2028 and $594 in fiscal year 2028-2029, its final year.

The parcel tax is projected to net the district about $18.5 million this year, accounting for some 14% of its $128.8 million budget. It’s a critical source of funding for the district, which has seen its share of budget struggles in recent years. The district has made some $3.5 million in budget cuts since last year — including $2.2 million in staffing cuts approved late last month — in an effort to maintain a balanced budget and the required minimum level of reserves.

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