On Tuesday, June 2, 2026 Marin County voters cast their ballots on Measure H, a funding tax for the Ross Valley School District (RVSD). The measure offers to better support the district to continue offering education in core academic classes such as math, reading, and writing, while maintaining controllable class sizes and staffing qualified teachers. In order to achieve these objectives, Measure H plans to “[renew] the expiring current 742-dollar parcel tax, while adding 540 dollars per parcel, providing 8,600,000 dollars annually for 10 years.”

Since its last update in 2012, the RVSD has been funded in part by a parcel tax, a per-unit charge on local real estate. With the current parcel tax set to expire June 30, 2028, the RVSD Board of Trustees placed Measure H on the local midterm ballot to reobtain and increase its funding. If passed by a majority of two-thirds, the new tax will take effect this Monday, July 1. If it fails, the current RVSD parcel tax will continue through until its expiration.

Exemptions from the parcel tax are available to those who fall into any of the categories as follows: individuals ages 65 and older, individuals of any age who receive Supplemental Security Income for a disability, or individuals of any age who receive Social Security Disability Insurance and meet specific federal income guidelines. Attaining these funds will likely impact the district in multiple ways. 

“Ross Valley teachers are some of the lowest-paid in the county, and our revenue is in the bottom four percent of the state of California. An increased parcel tax and a renewal of the current parcel tax help increase teacher pay and bring up [the RVSD] from the bottom of state funding,” said RVSD Superintendent Tyler Graff.

The issues Measure H would address are systemically rooted in the low state funding the district receives. Out of the 995 school districts in California, only 35 districts receive less monetary support than the RVSD. For this reason, advocates of the measure hope that changes in resource allocation at a state level will lay a stronger foundation for the future of the school districts. 

For 33 years, the RVSD has relied heavily on a local parcel tax to supplement inadequate state funding. This voter-approved tax provides 16 percent of the district’s budget.

“I’m hoping that we’ll go to Sacramento and seek some systemic changes in school funding, but for now, this will allow us to continue the current parcel tax and raise it a little bit so we’re not always the bottom of the barrel,” said Rebecca Hayhurst, a teacher at Brookside Elementary School.

Arguments in favor of the measure emphasize the challenges of covering the rising cost of education without the additional revenue from the parcel tax. Since 2012, the current parcel tax has not been adjusted, and with increasing inflation, the costs of operating schools has also risen. Proponents of Measure H have warned that, without the measure, two of the four RVSD sites, Hidden Valley and Manor Elementary Schools, could close, a change that would arrive in addition to cuts to academic programs, teacher layoffs, and the state potentially taking over the school district. 

“The approved plan includes closing two schools, but even after that, the budget will still be in the red, meaning we’ll still be in a deficit, which means more drastic academic cuts to the program,” said Anya Twigg, RVSD parent and a chair of the Yes on H committee.

Closing two RVSD elementary schools would redistribute students to the two remaining elementary schools in the district, Brookside and Wade Thomas Elementary Schools. This would result in increased class sizes, significantly reduced resources, teacher layoffs, and potential salary cuts. Another challenge it may present is a negative effect on elementary students. Young students typically benefit from ample individual attention and space, both of which would become compromised with crowded campuses, a concern of some Measure H proponents. 

“You start getting rid of play areas. You’ve got portable classrooms in a space where kids are used to being able to run around, more of them on campus and less space for them to play,” said Archie Williams counselor and RVSD parent Kyle Kassebaum. “It’s hard to learn when your class is full, harder still when it’s full with a bunch of maniac second graders.”

Hayhurst has taught at Brookside for 19 years and has seen firsthand the impact of increasing classroom sizes.

“When I started teaching, our class size limit was 20, and you can, in fact, teach 20 kindergartners to read, even if you’re a teacher in the classroom all by yourself. When you start getting up to numbers like 25, 26, 27, you are not able to give as much of yourself to the academic part because you’re doing a lot of behavior management, you’re doing a lot of management of small bodies, and as you get into the older grades, you’re doing a lot of paperwork,” Hayhurst said.

With the benefits of Measure H comes a significant concern for many that the tax increase of 540 dollars will be too much during a period of already high taxes. If Measure H passes, the increase of 540 dollars per parcel is a 72 percent increase to the current parcel tax. According to the AARP, “California has one of the nation’s highest individual income tax rates and high sales tax burdens compared to the rest of the country.” 

Another fear for some voters is the impact on rent with a tax increase. It may lead to a higher cost for renters, increasing the potential that the tax burden will push them out of the county. A more moderate tax may have been more appealing to a wider variety of voters, giving the measure stronger footing in the election.

“I’ve had concerns from families that are maybe having a hard time financially themselves and are worried about additional taxes, and [thinking] ‘Gosh, this feels extra at a time when other things are feeling expensive too,’” Hayhurst said. 

Senior Amalya Rajparia is voting for the first time in this midterm election, and is considering the price point of the parcel tax, as well as the benefit it offers.

“Funding education is an investment in the community. Take real-estate appreciation, for example. The value of property decreases if people don’t want to move to that area, which could happen if our public schools aren’t well-funded or reputable,” Amalya said.

The debate surrounding educational investment balances long-term benefits with the short term practical necessities of educators. Funding becomes a question of not only the future, but of avoiding immediate financial crises within the district. 

“For years, the educators and the administration of Ross Valley have been doing an extraordinary job, with less funding than all of the districts around us, but at a certain point, even us magicians can’t make it happen anymore, and we’re reaching that point,” Hayhurst said. “I’ve seen in my time here, we’ve lost incredible teachers because even though Ross Valley is such a wonderful place to work, sometimes you have to pick your family, your dreams of home ownership. Even if you love the district, it has to be sustainable to work in.”