Kentfield Local Education Funding Renewal Measure
FINDINGS
Kentfield School District (“District”) serves local students in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade at two award-winning schools. Kent Middle School recently was selected by the California Department of Education as a Distinguished School for student achievement – one of only three secondary schools in Marin County to receive this distinction.
While the District’s schools rank among the best in the State, the District’s base level funding is inadequate to support the excellent education the community expects. To supplement inadequate State funding, in 1987 local voters approved an education parcel tax measure that has been renewed several times, currently providing approximately $5.4 million in locally controlled funding each year that cannot be taken by the State, county or federal governments.
Locally controlled funding from the voter-approved education parcel tax represents approximately 22% of District operating funds and has been essential for keeping great teachers in District classrooms and protecting quality core academic programs. Unless renewed by voters, funding from the District’s education parcel tax will expire in 2028, and the District would have to cut approximately $5.4 million from its annual budget, leading to extensive teacher and school staff layoffs, cuts to academic programs and increases in class sizes.
The District has already made budget adjustments without eliminating teachers or academic programs, but there is no more to cut, and without this measure teaching and core academic programs will experience devastating cuts. Over the nearly 10 years since the measure was last renewed by local voters, costs have increased, yet state and local funding has not kept pace.
Funding from the education parcel tax will continue to be used to maintain strong core programs in math, science, reading, writing and technology, attract and retain highly qualified teachers, and prevent class size increases.
TERMS
A. Specific Purpose of the Measure
The specific purpose of the Measure is to fund the following programs and services:
- Maintaining quality core academic programs such as math, science, reading and writing;
- Attracting and retaining exceptional teachers; and
- Preventing class size increases.
The Board will utilize Measure proceeds for the purposes listed above, unless the Board determined in any given year that changes in student population, fiscal constraints, or other changes in state or federal funding make doing so unfeasible or inadvisable. In any event, the Board will not fund any program other than those listed above from the proceeds of the Measure. None of the Measure proceeds would be used for administrators’ salaries.
B. Amount, Basis and Collection of Tax
This Measure shall authorize the Kentfield School District (“District”) to levy a special tax at the current $1,842 rate, adding $148, for a total of $1,990 per Parcel of Taxable Real Property beginning July 1, 2026, and continuing for a period of ten (10) years, through June 30, 2036. The special tax shall increase by 3% each year, beginning on July 1, 2027.
This Measure and the special tax collected hereunder shall replace the existing “Measure A” special tax, which shall cease to be collected as of June 30, 2026 if this Measure passes. If this Measure does not pass, the Measure A special tax will continue to be collected until June 30, 2028 in accordance with its terms.
This special tax is estimated to raise $5.9 million in annual local funding for District schools. The amount of annual local funding raised by this special tax may vary from year to year due to changes in the number of parcels exempted from the levy.
The District shall annually provide the County of Marin Treasurer-Tax Collector (“County Tax Collector”) a report indicating the parcel number and amount of tax to be collected on each Parcel of Taxable Real Property.
To the extent allowed by law, “Parcel of Taxable Real Property” shall be defined as any unit of real property in the District that receives a separate tax bill for ad valorem property taxes from the County Tax Collector. All property that is otherwise exempt from or upon which are levied no ad valorem property taxes in any year shall not be considered a Parcel of Taxable Real Property for purposes of the special tax in such year.
If any portion of this definition is deemed contrary to law, the Board declares and the voters by approving the Measure concur, that every other section and part of this definition has independent value, and the Board and voters would have adopted each other section and part hereof regardless of every other section or part hereof. If all sections or parts of this definition are deemed contrary to law, “Parcel of Taxable Real Property” shall be defined as any real property in the District assigned an assessor’s parcel number.
C. Exemptions
Upon application and pursuant to any procedures adopted by the District, an exemption from payment of the special tax may be granted on any parcel owned by one or more persons who are:
- Sixty-five years of age or over and who occupies said parcel as a principal residence (“Senior Citizen Exemption”); or
- Receiving Supplemental Security Income for a disability, regardless of age, and who occupies said parcel as a principal residence (“SSI Exemption”); or
- Receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, regardless of age, whose yearly income does not exceed 250 percent of the 2012 federal poverty guidelines issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and who occupies said parcel as a principal residence (“SSDI Exemption”).
Exemptions may be granted based on a one-time application, and exemptions granted under prior measures levied by the District will not require re-approval, subject to the District’s right to verify a property owner’s continuing qualification for exemption.
D. Claims / Exemption Procedures
With respect to all general property tax matters within its jurisdiction, the County Tax Collector or other appropriate County tax official shall make all final determinations of tax exemption or relief for any reason, and that decision shall be final and binding. With respect to matters specific to the levy of the tax, including the Senior Citizen Exemption, SSI Exemption, SSDI Exemption, the application of the definition of “Parcel of Taxable Property” to any parcel(s), the legality or validity of the special tax, or any other disputed matter specific to the application of the special tax, the decisions of the District shall be final and binding. The procedures described herein, and any additional procedures established by the Board shall be the exclusive claims procedure for claimants seeking an exemption, refund, reduction, or re-computation of the special tax. Whether any particular claim is to be resolved by the District or by the County shall be determined by the District, in coordination with the County as necessary.
E. Accountability Provisions
- Independent Citizens Oversight Committee. The Board shall provide for an independent citizen oversight committee to oversee the special taxes collected pursuant to the Measure to ensure that moneys raised under this Measure are spent only for the purposes described in this Measure. The Board shall establish, and may revise, requirements regarding the composition, duties, funding, and other necessary information regarding the committee’s operation and shall have the option to extend the existing parcel tax or other independent citizen oversight committee and its membership to serve as the independent citizen oversight committee for this Measure.
- Annual Audit. Upon the levy and collection of this special tax, the Board shall cause an account to be established for deposit of the proceeds. For so long as any proceeds of the special account remain unexpended, the Superintendent or chief business official of the District shall cause a report to be filed with the Board no later than December 31 of each year, commencing December 31, after the tax is first levied, stating (1) the amount of funds collected and expended in such year, and (2) the status of any projects or description of any programs funded from the proceeds of the tax. The report may relate to the calendar year, fiscal year, or other appropriate annual period, as the Superintendent shall determine, and may be incorporated into or filed with the annual budget, audit, or other appropriate routine report to the Board.
- Specific Purposes. Proceeds of the special tax shall be applied only for the purposes described in Section A hereof. Decisions regarding the specific programs, schools, sites and expenditures to be supported in any given year, and the timing, priority and method of allocation of funds, shall be made by the Board in its sole discretion and may vary from year to year as needs arise or change.
F. Appropriations Limit
Pursuant to California Constitution Article XIIIB and applicable laws, the appropriations limit for the District will be adjusted periodically by the aggregate sum collected by levy of this special tax. This provision shall be deemed to be declaratory of existing procedures governing District expenditures.
G. Protection of Funding
Current law forbids any decrease in State or federal funding to the District resulting from the adoption of a special tax. However, if any such funding is reduced or affected because of the adoption of this local funding measure, then the Board may reduce the amount of the special taxes levied as necessary in order to restore such State or federal funding and/or maximize the District’s fiscal position for the benefit of the educational program. As a result, whether directly or indirectly, no funding from this measure may be taken away by the State or federal governments.
H. Severability
The Board hereby declares, and the voters by approving this measure concur, that every section, paragraph, sentence and clause of this measure has independent value, and the Board and the voters would have adopted each provision hereof regardless of every other provision hereof. Upon approval of this measure by the voters, should any part be found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid for any reason, all remaining parts hereof shall remain in full force and effect to the fullest extent allowed by law.