Senior residents should help pay for good schools

Ross Valley School District teachers are currently advocating for well-deserved and essential pay increases. Unfortunately, RVSD is projecting a multi-year deficit. How can the median home price in San Anselmo be $1.6 million, yet schools struggle to pay teachers?

Nationally, districts rely on property taxes for funding, often resulting in well-equipped schools in affluent areas. However, Proposition 13 in California restricts annual property tax growth to 2%, limiting school funding even during periods of booming values.

Additionally, senior tax exemptions in counties like Marin tighten budgets by exempting individuals from some school taxes based solely on age.

While laws shield homeowners from excessive tax burdens, school parcel taxes in Marin remain relatively modest. Most Marin school districts charge between $200 and $500 per year, whereas the average Marin Municipal Water District household pays over $800 annually for water.

According to 2023 data from RVSD's business office, there are 9,348 parcels within its boundaries and 6,805 parcels pay the tax. That means 27% of parcels in the footprint exploit exemptions, depriving local schools of $1.5 million annually. Extrapolating this to the rest of the county's districts amounts to tens of millions for students and schools.

Imagine if a third of the people didn't pay for ambulances or hospitals because they primarily benefit seniors, or people without cars didn't need to pay for roads. We should operate for mutual benefit as a community, Schools are crucial in this pursuit.

The quality of the schools and teachers is a significant reason people choose to move, invest and stay here.

In the simplest terms, Marin County residents need the help of our seniors who benefited from previous generations' generosity. If you're able, please donate or consider giving up your senior tax exemption to support schools in our community and the children who call it home.

— Massimo Pacchione,

San Anselmo was Archie Williams High School.

Archie Williams is in my neighborhood. It is a great center of community. I initially learned about the bond's inequality of funding for Archie Williams versus Redwood and Tamalpais high schools in a column by Dick Spotswood in the IJ. That information moved me to work to help defeat Measure A. Archie Williams should not be the “poor cousin” for the next 30 years.

Some who spoke at the recent district meeting were out of line (“Tam Union Measure A supporters blame poor turnout, `untruths' in loss,” March 28). But the facts are that this was an overly costly proposal that did not, by law, have the ability to carve out a senior discount. The public needed to know that information.

All the teachers and retired teachers that I talked to, except one, told me that they would like the district to hire more teachers, reduce the size of the classes and concentrate on student academics.

Older citizens, who have contributed to the welfare of their communities for years, did not want the financial burden of this bond. On fixed incomes, it is more important to be able to afford to stay in their homes.

If the district is really looking for the reason why this bond failed, it should look at what Measure A offered the public. Could the bond amount have been smaller, could the duration have been shorter and could the funding distribution have been split equally?

Informed voters make their own decisions.

— Roseann Dal Bello,

San Anselmo