Some San Gabriel Valley voters are back at the polls again this summer.
The San Marino Unified School District is asking voters to renew an annual $415 parcel tax to raise an estimated $1.6 million a year to fund programs for students, educator salaries, current class sizes, libraries and other services.
Measure R election results
Polls closed on Tuesday, June 3. Returns from election night show Measure R is poised to pass with more than the two-thirds of votes needed. The results still need to be certified, but San Marino Unified voters have renewed the parcel tax six times since it was first passed in 1991. Read more.
The L.A. County Registrar-Recorder mailed ballots to registered voters earlier this month and prospective voters have until May 19 to register. Election Day is June 3 and at least two-thirds of voters need to approve Measure R for it to pass.
“Ultimately, the goal of this district is to provide and continue to provide that stable, high performing, wonderful experience that our students get the benefit from,” said Stephen Choi, the district’s chief business official. “Measure R provides that fiscal stability for our district.”
The measure assesses annual tax on every “parcel” — in layman’s terms, property in the district. There are some owners who do not have to pay (more on those exemptions below).
Official title on the ballot: San Marino School District Special Parcel Tax Election- Measure R.
You are being asked: Can the San Marino Unified School District collect $415 annually from property-owners in the district by way of a parcel tax to fund programs for students, educator salaries, current class sizes, libraries and other services?
What your vote means
A "yes" vote means: The district can collect an annual $415 parcel tax to fund education programs, educator salaries, libraries and other services.
A "no" vote means: The district cannot collect an annual $415 parcel tax to fund education programs, educator salaries, libraries and other services.
Understanding Measure R
The San Marino Unified School District serves more than 2,900 students at four schools — K.L. Carver Elementary School, W.L. Valentine Elementary School, H.E. Huntington Middle School and San Marino High School.
California distributes funding to schools based on students’ average daily attendance and provides additional funding to support low-income students, foster youth and English language learners.
Nearly 19% of San Marino Unified students identify with at least one of those three categories.
“State funding simply doesn't provide everything that's needed for a great education in San Marino,” Choi said.
Parcel taxes are one of two avenues for school districts to raise public money outside of the state’s funding formula. Most parcel taxes consist of a flat fee for each eligible property; another option sets a rate based on property size. Historically, parcel taxes are more likely than not to pass once placed on the ballot — this was true in November — and have been concentrated in wealthier school districts.
San Marino Unified voters first passed the predecessor to Measure R in 1991 and renewed the tax six times. The current iteration will expire June 30 without voter approval.
The district reports that Measure R supports 11 teaching and counseling positions. Choi said the money from the measure helps the district maintain elementary school classes of 20 to 25 students and middle and high school classes around 28 to 30 students.
California law allows elementary school class sizes of up to 32 students.
San Marino voters asked to renew property tax to fund schools
Didn’t San Marino just pass a school funding measure?
Yes, but Measure M is different.
The $200 million bond is reserved for renovation and repair projects and unlike parcel taxes, cannot be used for employee salaries.
A bond is basically a loan that is paid back — with interest — through local property taxes.
The district estimated the bond would cost property owners that live within the school district's boundaries an average of $60 per $100,000 of assessed value each year.
Wasn’t the lottery supposed to fund education?
The lottery does contribute money to public education — L.A. County alone has gotten $11 billion since 1985 — but as revenues ballooned in recent years, school funding stagnated.
When California voters approved the creation of the lottery, the law required 34 cents of every dollar to fund education. In 2010 lawmakers changed the rules giving the lottery the mandate to “maximize” funding for education.
Now there are bigger jackpots, but fewer dollars for schools. A 2018 LAist investigation found the lottery’s contributions had dropped to 23 cents per dollar.
And in 2020, the California State Auditor found the lottery “has not provided required funding to education” and shorted schools tens of millions of dollars.
How it would work
If at least two-thirds of voters approve Measure R, San Marino Unified will gain $415 from every property owner in the district.
There are several groups of property owners that can apply to an exemption including those:
- Aged 65 years or older
- Receiving Supplemental Security Income for a disability
- Receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits whose yearly income does not exceed 250% of the 2012 federal poverty guidelines. For example, that’s $57,625 for a family of four.
The exemption is not automatic; property owners must submit an application in person, via email or mail to the district.
Property owners who are already exempt from paying the parcel tax will also be exempted from the renewal.
The district estimates Measure R will raise about $1.6 million a year and plans to spend the money on:
- Existing educational programs, including science and math
- Teacher and counselor retention and recruitment
- Maintaining class sizes
- Libraries
- Technology
Who is in charge of all this money?
L.A. County collects the money and deposits it into a specific account that the district can use on “specified purposes” listed in the ballot measure:
- To support the maintenance of existing educational programs at current levels
- To retain and attract the best qualified teachers and counselors
- To maintain reduced class size
- To support academic programs in science and math
- To maintain district-wide school library services
- To prevent the elimination of teachers specializing in the area of math and science
- To maintain adequate technology systems for all students by retaining technology service technicians.
State law requires districts to prepare an annual report on how parcel tax dollars are spent. You can view San Marino Unified’s reports online.
The most recent report is from the 2023-24 school year and lists nine elementary, science and math teachers, and a library worker, counselor and systems analyst.
What people who support the parcel tax say
San Marino Unified voters have voted to renew Measure R six times since it was first passed in 1991.
“The lion's share [of residents] have really felt that they're getting tremendous value for their dollar, whether they're property owners or renting here within the district,” said Christen Gair, chair of the committee campaigning to pass the measure.
Gair’s son is an eighth-grader at Huntington Middle School. She said he’s thrived, in part, because of the district’s rigorous math and science classes and the opportunity to participate in extracurricular programs like music, where he learned to play the tuba.
“With all the uncertainty at the state level, this source of funding just provides great continuity in terms of maintaining the academics that our community has really come to expect,” Gair said.
The governor’s most recent budget proposal includes a $12 billion deficit and delays some money for schools.
Several individuals and groups submitted an argument in favor of Measure R to the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder, including school volunteers, retired educators and the president of the San Marino Council of PTAs.
Read more:
What critics of parcel taxes say
No individual or group submitted an argument opposing Measure R to the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is a frequent opponent of measures that increase property taxes. The nonprofit is dedicated to upholding Proposition 13, the 1978 constitutional amendment that limited changes to California property taxes.
The association has not taken a position on Measure R, but vice president of communications Susan Shelley said voters may want to consider the total cost of the district’s parcel taxes when making their decision.
“The district is not legally permitted to use public funds to campaign for a tax increase,” Shelley said in an email. “Residents should be watchful to make sure any mailings or other advertising are informational in nature and not selectively highlighting or omitting facts in a way that amounts to campaigning.”
The association takes reports of publicly funded campaigning by email or at (916) 444-9950.
Potential financial impact
Measure R will cost property owners $415 per parcel annually starting in July 2025 for six years.
Measure R renews an existing tax, so most property owners will not see a significant change in their property tax bill. However, there is a provision in the measure that allows increases of up to 3% annually to account for inflation.
The district estimates Measure R will raise about $1.6 million a year, though the amount will vary based on the number of property owners paying the tax and the adjustments for inflation.
Property owners will also see two other existing funding measures on their bill.
Measure E: A second parcel tax first approved by voters in 2009.
- Cost: $968 a year, with exemptions for people over 65, some low-income and disabled property owners.
- Money raised: $4 million a year.
- Purpose: Fund about 30 positions, various academic and extracurricular programs.
- Expiration: June 2027.
Measure M: A bond approved by voters in 2024.
- Cost: An average of $60 per $100,000 of assessed property value.
- Money raised: Up to $200 million over the life of the bond.
- Purpose: Fund facility repairs, modernization and restoration.
- Expiration: The district estimates the tax could be collected through 2058.
How to vote
- Residents who live within the boundaries of the San Marino Unified School District have until May 19 to register to vote. This includes San Marino and parts of East Pasadena and East San Gabriel — check your status online.
- The L.A. County Registrar of Voters started mailing out ballots to existing registered voters on May 5.
- Voters can mail back their ballots or drop them off at the vote center at the Huntington Middle School gymnasium starting May 24 through election day.
- Election day is June 3. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. The recorder must receive mail-in ballots no later than June 6, three days after election day.
Get more information:
- Call (800) 815-2666 to learn how to register to vote, request a replacement ballot and learn more about vote centers.
- Fill out a sample ballot online to speed up your trip to the polls.
