The Ross Valley School District has tightened its belt for the past six years. Yet with funding remaining flat, inflation has created a considerable budget deficit.
Without voter approval of Measure H, a local parcel tax on the June 2 ballot, RSVD says it will be forced to cut significant student programs at its five San Anselmo and Fairfax schools that serve kindergarten through eighth grade.
“If Measure H doesn’t pass on June 2, then in August we’ll be cutting teacher leadership positions immediately,” RSVD Superintendent Tyler Graff said. “And then we will immediately begin planning to eliminate the electives at middle school.”
That’s just the beginning of the consequences, according to Graff. A tiered plan maps out slashing more than $3 million from the budget over the next three years, including laying off physical education teachers, eliminating two counseling positions and closing two elementary schools. Even with these cuts, RSVD would have a budget shortfall of $1.9 million, potentially resulting in state receivership by 2028-29.
The proposed ballot measure for a local parcel tax could change that trajectory, providing about $8.6 million annually for the next 10 years.
Measure H would renew the current $742 parcel tax and add $540 per parcel, for a total of $1,282 annually. The projected tax revenue for the next school year would cover 27% of the district’s $31.7 million budget.
Provisions include exemptions for seniors and those with disabilities, a 3% annual tax rate increase and independent oversight. But the measure requires two-thirds voter approval, which could present a challenge for the district.
Opponents bristle at the proposed 73% parcel tax hike, saying the district should have asked for a modest increase. The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers points out that last year voters rejected RSVD’s Measure E, a nine-year parcel tax that would have generated $7.8 million annually.
“They’re asking for MUCH MORE on this retry,” critics stated in a ballot argument filed against Measure H.
Supporters maintain the additional revenue is needed because RSVD ranks 959th out of 995 California districts in per-pupil state funding. Teachers in the district, already among the lowest paid, didn’t receive a raise this year.
“Our custodians are underpaid, our principals are underpaid and our district office admin staff are underpaid as compared to surrounding districts,” Graff said.
Lower salaries make it difficult for the district to hire and retain employees. Graff notes four teachers left last year for positions at other local schools. During exit interviews, they cited salary and benefits as factors in their decision to seek new employment.
“We just had one of our excellent staff members take a job as a principal in another district,” Graff said. “They’re going to be getting $225,000. The top of our salary schedule for principals is $170,000.”
The ballot measure states that parcel tax funds would be used to attract and keep “highly qualified teachers,” as well as to maintain manageable class sizes and core academic programs in science, technology, engineering, math, reading and writing. Administrative salaries will not be funded by the measure.
However, in the argument filed against Measure H, opponents wrote that tax money allocated to “much higher pay” for teachers allows “high paid administrators” to receive pay increases from general funds. They urge the district to come back with a different ballot measure in November, one that addresses students’ needs and affordability for residents.
In the event that Measure H fails, Graff says RSVD will probably propose a different type of parcel tax on the November ballot. Otherwise, it faces grim circumstances.
“And if the November measure doesn’t pass, then we have to close two schools and eliminate pretty much everything else outside of the classroom,” he said. “We’ll have to reconfigure our district in unimaginable ways.”
