Introduction
The Menlo Park City School District serves nearly 3,000 children across Menlo Park, Atherton, East Palo Alto, and unincorporated San Mateo County. Our students perform well on academic measures and also report high levels of engagement and sense of belonging at their schools.
MPCSD is community funded, meaning it receives nearly 90% of its funding from local sources: property tax, parcel taxes, and community philanthropic giving. MPCSD has a long history of community support for parcel taxes and bond measures: the first series of bonds was approved by voters in 1995 and the first parcel tax in 2000. MPCSD maintains a AAA credit rating for its general obligation bonds.
To continue providing necessary funding for its robust programs, the School Board of the Menlo Park City School District voted to put a Parcel Tax, Measure B, on the November 2021 ballot. This Parcel Tax is a renewal of an existing parcel tax, with a $192.50 increase, that supports small class sizes, excellent teaching staff, and a strong academic curriculum.
What is a parcel tax?
A parcel tax is a special tax which is uniformly based on the mere existence of a parcel, regardless of its size. Upon voter approval by a 2/3 majority, parcel taxes can be levied on public school districts and on other local units of government, including cities, counties, and special districts.
Parcel taxes are primarily used to provide services and programs by school districts and other governmental bodies as contrasted to bond measures which provide funding for facilities.
Will the District attempt to pass another parcel tax?
MPCSD is committed to strong financial health and prudent spending of the taxpayers’ dollars. Looking at multi-year budget projections, the Board saw a reduction in its reserves from a healthy 15.3% in 2021-22 to a projected 8.6% in 2024-25 if the current sunsetting parcel tax is allowed to expire. To ensure long-term financial health, the Board voted to ask the community to renew its expiring parcel tax with a modest increase. The Board has also cut over $3 million since 2017 as part of a balanced plan that includes budget reductions.
MPCSD spends 89% of its budget on salaries and benefits. Without the community’s support of parcel taxes, MPCSD would need to cut staff, leading to larger classes and fewer opportunities for students and reduce compensation, a key factor in attracting and retaining the best and brightest educators for our community’s children.
About the MPCSD Parcel Tax
The November 2021 parcel tax election is the culmination of two years of planning and engagement with the community around the district’s long-term financial health. Beginning in November 2019, the district presented the Board with its multi-year projection showing the erosion of the district’s reserves if stable funding was not secured.
Throughout 2020 and early 2021, community engagement was sought through special community meetings and a professional survey. The community continued to give input until the official ballot language was approved at the Board’s May 13, 2021 meeting.
MPCSD prioritizes excellent teaching and through the Board-adopted Vision for Outstanding Public Education, the Board commits to providing its educators a professional salary that is competitive with other peer, high-performing districts. Measure B will help the district continue to attract, retain, and develop its educators.
MPCSD offers class sizes between 18 and 24 students, well below California averages when compared by grade level. Measure B will help the district keep class sizes low.
MPCSD’s academic and enrichment program is robust. Measure B will help the district fund core academic programs in math, English Language Arts, and science as well as world language, the arts, and a broad range of electives at the middle school.
What District services will a parcel tax help support?
2020-2021 Annual Parcel Tax Report
Whole Child Learning & Development Framework
MPCSD applies its Whole Child Learning and Development Framework to ensure that all students experience meaningful relationships, a sense of belonging, and academic success during their education journey. Our goal is that every child engages, achieves, and thrives.
MPCSD manages its resources wisely and provides a high quality education at a much lower cost per student than many local peer districts. Yet several factors make it difficult to sustain the quality of education MPCSD has built up over the years:
- 20 years of increased enrollment and much more housing development on the way;
- A more than doubling of the burden (from 8.25% in 2014 to 18.40% on 2021) the State of California has placed on local school districts to mandatory state pension programs;
- Limited state funding for Districts like Menlo Park;
- Community desire that our schools remain strong; and,
- Most recently, the fiscal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19: Lessons Learned From Menlo Park City School District
Bay Area School District That Didn’t Shut Down During The Pandemic
MPCSD managed the pandemic well and was the first Bay Area public school district to reopen in Fall 2020. With the experience of successfully keeping schools open and safe in 2020-21, MPCSD is open full-time, in person for all grades in 2021-22. MPCSD expanded its summer school program during Summer 2021 to offer any student the opportunity to stay on track for success in the 2021-22 school year and mitigate any continuing effects of at-home learning due to the pandemic.
Back to School - 2021-22
Excitement and a 'willingness to do anything it takes' to stay open as elementary school students go back to campuses.
The courtyard of Hillview Middle School was teeming with hundreds of tweens for the first time in two years at Thursday morning's break.
The school's roughly 860 grade 6-8 students returned Aug. 19 to the Menlo Park campus full time yesterday after shutting down in March 2020 for distance learning amid pandemic lockdowns. Last October, the school reopened for in-person learning on a hybrid basis with just a fraction of the student body on campus.
Article from The Almanac News
Photo by Magali Gauthier
How Can I Vote in the Parcel Tax Election?
Registered voters residing within MPCSD will receive a mailed ballot in October. Measure B needs to pass with at least 66.6% of the vote to take effect.
