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Parcel tax oversight committee recommends annual meeting cadence; confirms parcels fund teaching positions
Summary
The Parcel Tax Citizens Oversight Committee reported it will meet once a year in January and that parcel tax revenue supports dozens of district positions and core programs; committee noted no audit findings and encouraged clearer links to college‑and‑career readiness.
Alicia Klein, chair of the Parcel Tax Citizens Oversight Committee, reported to the San Rafael City Schools board on May 19 that the citizens committee found no audit issues and is moving to a single annual meeting schedule while continuing oversight of Measures G and H expenditures.
"There were some initial bumps when we really established the parcel tax citizens oversight committee," Klein said. "We are so far past that now that as you'll see in this presentation that we only need to have 1 meeting a year." She told trustees the panel monitors whether parcel tax dollars are spent in line with ballot language — for example, supporting math, science, technology and the arts; attracting and retaining experienced teachers; maintaining small class sizes; and preparing students for college and careers.
Klein noted parcel tax dollars cannot be used for administrative salaries or benefits, a restriction the committee monitors to ensure compliance with the ballot measure. The committee presented a breakdown showing the parcel tax funds support a substantial number of staff positions: Klein said the parcel tax funds "more than 34 FTEs" in the elementary school district (about 6% of personnel there) and about 18.5% of high school district personnel FTEs, figures the committee used to illustrate program reliance on parcel tax revenue.
Committee members told the board parcel taxes bring approximately $4 million to each district annually and that the current parcel tax was renewed in 2022 on an eight‑year term with a 3% annual escalator. The committee also described an open recruitment need for parent and administrator representatives to fill several committee seats.
Klein said the committee discussed how parcel tax funds are maintaining staffing and programming rather than expanding them in many areas and suggested the district consider clearer, more explicit links to college‑and‑career readiness in its accounting of parcel tax‑funded services.
