How We Got Here
The lack of funding for our schools is a structural problem in California reaching back nearly 50 years.
California has the 4th largest economy in the world and the highest GDP in the United States but ranks 33/50 in per-pupil education spending.
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Prop 13 benefited homeowners, but reduced school budgets
When Proposition 13 passed in 1978, it capped property tax increases for homeowners, but it came at a price for our public schools. Public schools were funded by local property taxes and when those tax revenues were capped at 2% annual increases, it restricted budgets indefinitely.
Prior to Prop 13, California had adequate revenue to fund schools and was in the top 5 states nationwide for per-pupil spending. After Prop 13, California’s per-pupil spending dropped well below the national average.
Property Taxes alone are not sufficient
Under Prop 13, a home’s property tax is based on its purchase price (the “base-year value”) rather than current market value. With the basic property taxes capped at 1% of this “base-year value” and annual increases to that assessed value capped at 2%. Prop 13 applies to both residential and commercial properties.
That means two homes (or businesses) next to each other, nearly identical in size and current market value, could have drastically different property tax bills today, depending only on when they were purchased.
Here in Ross Valley, we’ve had less housing turnover resulting in fewer updated assessments than some neighboring communities in Marin. While this is financially advantageous for homeowners, it means the school funding continues to decrease.
Here is an illustrative example of how this plays out:
Another fun fact: Recent data show the median tax bill in Marin County was about $11,625 in 2024, while the average home value in Marin County was $1.4M. The “basic property tax” average of a 1.4M home should be $14,000 - this gap in funding makes a difference!
Post Prop 13, California created a complex, centralized funding system
In an attempt to fill the funding gap created by Prop 13, California began funding schools with state income and sales tax using a complex system referred to as Revenue Limits, which was very restrictive, giving districts little control on how funds were spent. Meanwhile, wealthy districts with a high property tax base retained an advantage through the Basic Aid loophole.
In 2013, California implemented a new system, Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), in an effort to simplify funding and direct more resources to high-need students. However, because Prop 13 and Basic Aid remain in place, significant disparities between districts continue today. While LCFF was a step in the right direction, it does not reflect local cost of living in Marin, and supplemental funding is required to pay for higher local costs through a school parcel tax.
Parcel taxes have filled the remaining gap - but haven't kept up
For more than 30 years, Ross Valley voters have supported local schools through a parcel tax which makes up for the lack of funding we receive from property taxes and the state. That local funding has paid for: smaller classroom sizes, classroom teachers and aides, counseling and student support services, among other things. However, the existing school parcel tax has not kept pace with rising costs. Inflation, health care, and staffing expenses have all increased significantly since the tax was last updated.
The Bottom Line
Our school district has made significant cuts since 2020 to costs outside of the classrooms (i.e. administration) and cut into reserves below what the state deems fiscally healthy - this is not sustainable.
Even with careful budgeting and cost controls, the district faces a structural problem: Costs rise every year; state funding lags behind; local funding has remained largely flat. This creates a growing shortfall that cannot be solved through efficiency alone without impacting children and classrooms.