Understanding the Budget Cuts, the Parcel Tax, and Strong School's Budget

Budget cuts: losing teachers, larger classrooms

The Redwood City School District (RCSD) is facing significant financial challenges as a result of reduced state/federal level funding, the end of pandemic related funds, and raising costs related to operating in a very high cost of living area.

To be financially responsible and remain fiscally solvent, the district has implemented budget reductions totaling approximately $9.8M over two fiscal years.

2025-2026 School year reductions (effective now)

In 2024, the budget was cut by approximately $3.8M, by significantly reducing staff:

• 8.2 Assistant Principals (APs) Lost: Most schools lost their Assistant Principal. This leaves the Principal as the sole administrator responsible for safety, discipline, and legal compliance.
• 4.25 Mental Health Counselors Lost: Nearly every campus (Adelante Selby, North Star, Orion, Roosevelt, Taft, and others) have reduced student access to emotional support.
• 3.8 Instructional Specialists Lost: Literacy and MTSS Coaches (TOSAs) were reduced, affecting students who are falling behind in reading and math.

Approval of Budget Renewal Initiative, Superintendent Recommendations

2026-2027 Proposed Reductions

This year, it was determined that a projected $6M deficit for the upcoming year necessitates further cuts. The plan has not yet been finalized, but right now the proposal includes:

• Teachers: The reduction of 17 teacher positions. This will bring class sizes to the maximum allowed by state law:
  • 28 students in K-2
  • 32 students in 3-5
  • 35 students in 6-8
• Guest Teacher Coverage: The elimination of guest teachers who cover classrooms for ill teachers or during IEP meetings.
• Administrative Workload: Without Assistant Principals, TK-5 Principals must now manage up to 150 IEP meetings per year alone, while also managing the daily operations of a school with maxed-out class sizes.

Scenario Development: Preliminary Budget Reduction Options Strategic Resource Alignment Board Meeting - Jan 13th

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Understanding parcel taxes

California laws determine how School Districts are funded. Those laws apply to all school districts equally - no matter how high or low the cost of living in the area is.

Following those laws, a large amount of the Redwood City School District funds come from Property Taxes. In California, Proposition 13 caps annual property tax increases to 2%. Since 2021 the cost of living has increased by 20%. For every $100 the district received in 2021, they now receive about $108. However, to buy the exact same goods and services they bought in 2021, they now need $120. This gap has been increasing since 1978, when Prop 13 was passed.

• Regional Tax Rates: San Mateo County Controller: Property Tax Highlights FY 2023-24
• Inflation Data: CA Dept of Industrial Relations: Historical California CPI Data
• District Funding Analysis: Redwood City School District: Community Funded District Analysis

California laws also provides other mechanisms for School Districts to receive funding: via bonds, and parcel taxes.

Bonds can be used exclusively for “Capital” (facilities) expenditures. They cannot be used to pay teachers or counselors.

Historical Funding and Legal Constraints

In recent years, Redwood City School District voters were called to approve different bonds and parcel taxes. The table below summarizes the current state.

(Sources: Ballotpedia; San Mateo County Assessor; RCSD Measure S/T Project Pages)

As you can notice:

• Measure W - has expired 8 years ago.
• Measure T and Measure S - are bonds, constrained by law to only be used for capital expenditures - meaning they can in practice only be used for building renovation and improvements, or things to buy. It is also important to note that while Measures T and S provide about $ 491M of funds for important renovation and modernization work, the 2025 RCSD Facilities Master Plan identifies a total of $780–$820 million in long-term needs. Leaving a $300 million gap in identified facility projects.

The only active measure that can be used to pay for teachers, teacher aids, or staff in general is Measure U, which only provides $ 1.9 M per year, and is set to expire in 2031.

Comparative Regional Analysis

We believe that RCSD currently receives amongst the lowest level of funding from parcel taxes compared to neighboring district. The table below is based on a research of active parcel taxes in nearby districts:

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The new parcel tax

The Redwood City School District is planning to put on the ballot a parcel tax to try to reduce the revenue gap, and to prevent the increase in class sizes and significant reduction in teachers.

Past efforts to add parcel taxes in Redwood City were based on a flat fee per parcel - meaning that every property owner would pay the same amount, no matter the size of the dwelling.

For the first time, the RCSD is considering a parcel tax based on square footage of the dwelling - meaning that property owners would pay differently depending on the size of the dwelling. A small apartment owner would pay a fraction of someone owning a small house, or an entire complex.

The measure would still include exclusions for seniors and low income families, as common for similar measures.

It would also include the provision for a citizens oversight committee reviewing expenses, and ensuring that money is spent according to the letter of the law and the definition of the parcel tax.

What the parcel tax will fund

The parcel tax money will exclusively be used to directly support classrooms and student-facing services, including teacher salaries, counselors, reading specialists, TOSAs, teaching assistants, and programs like PE, STEAM, Makery, and garden.

What the parcel tax will NOT fund

The parcel tax money will NOT be usable for building improvements, buying technologies, or administration salaries. This will be enforced through the wording of the measure - making it illegal for money to be used for different purposes - and through an oversight committee made of residents of the district.

The precise wording of the ballot is still being drafted by the school district and their legal staff. As soon as the wording is finalized, we will update our website and the community.

Estimated Annual Revenue

Projected revenue based on a rate of $0.175 per BSQFT and a $25 fee for unimproved parcels.

• Source: RCSD Parcel Tax Financial Scenario Analysis (Search: Parcel Tax Feasibility Study)

Conclusion

The proposed parcel tax is intended to mitigate staff reductions and maintain current class size standards. Revenues are locally controlled, stay entirely within RCSD, and are subject to mandatory citizen oversight and annual independent audits.

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Our Campaign Budget

For this parcel tax to pass, we need two-thirds (66.7%) of the voters to say yes. This is a high bar to meet, and the last effort attempted failed by just 72 votes.

It will be important to make sure that voters are informed, voters know how important their vote is to the community and especially make sure that supporters mail in their ballot and VOTE.

We talked with organizations that run campaigns before us here in Redwood City, and with parents that participated in the last effort to pass a parcel tax, as well as with professional political consultants that supported our district and other districts in similar initiatives.

One common theme and highlight was that campaigning is extremely important and valuable. If spending more $$ could have brought those 72 voters to the polls a few years back, our district may be in a very different position today.

Before we describe the budget, let’s consider a few important facts:

1. The Redwood City School District is broader than the city itself, encompassing neighborhoods in Redwood City, Emerald Hills, parts of Atherton, a few Unincorporated Areas, and more (see our map for details).
2. A problem that has been observed in past campaigns is that residents of some areas are not aware of being served by the Redwood City School District, and need to be specifically informed of why they are being asked to support the parcel tax, and why it’s important for their neighborhood. Imagine living in Atherton, or North Fair Oaks, and being asked whether or not to pay a parcel tax for the Redwood City School District. The first instinct would be “but I don’t live in Redwood City!”.
3. According to the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division, the district has approximately 44,000 to 46,000 registered voters (~55,000 eligible to vote, not all registered). Of those 44,000 - 46,000 voters, only 18,300 voted in the last to 3 to 4 elections. If the turn out in June matches the same as in the past years, we would need ~13,000 YES votes. If all registered voters showed up, we would need ~30,000 YES.
4. Marketing research shows that voters need to see a message several times before it truly resonates - ideally through different channels and in different formats (flyers, lawn signs, mail, email, etc). In traditional business marketing this is referred to as the rule of seven, indicating that a message has to be shown at least 7 times before it really resonates.
5. The entire effort is run by volunteers. And many volunteers are contributing professional skills. But for anything we can’t do ourselves, or for anything we can’t do fast enough through volunteers, we will need to hire professionals. We already had to pay for legal advice, financial advice, tax professionals, and unless we find skills within the community, we will need to pay for graphic design and political advice. While it can be expensive, having experts on our side can ensure we spend money the most effective way (for example, by knowing which demographics to focus on, having access to voter databases, mailing voters instead of entire neighborhoods, knowing which messages resonate the best with the community through polling, etc).

Proposed Campaign Tiers

The table below details the expected spending per area, depending on how much we raise. For example: if we manage to raise only $ 100,000, we will only be able to run a minimal campaign, and we will need to cut down on digital advertisements, flyers and so on. The costs below are approximations based on previous experiences, and back-of-the-envelope calculations.

While some numbers may seem high, consider a simple example: using one of the cheapest USPS bulk delivery options (EDDM) for a single 20,000 flyers distribution targeted to some zip codes, it will cost us between $ 7,000 and $ 11,000 (including print costs, but paper quality, design, delivery options can greatly change this cost). A single delivery of 20,000 flyers via addressed letters exclusively to registered voters would cost more, between $ 10,000 and $ 16,000. But those costs don’t take into account the need to have a voter database, having someone to do some research around which demographics and zip codes to prioritize, and the costs of designing the flyer, the time to pick the paper, the format, and set up the delivery with USPS. In practice, we would most likely use a 3rd party to set up the delivery for us, with higher costs.

Google, Facebook, Instagram, … ads also have a preparation cost, as well as a cost per display or per click that can add up very quickly to thousands of dollars.

Area	Minimal Campaign	Effective Campaign	Strong Campaign
Voter Information Mailers	$54,650	$81,050	$107,450
Educational brochures and postcards sent to households. This is the core of the campaign, ensuring our message reaches people's physical mailboxes.
Digital & Social Media Ads	$10,000	$27,500	$52,500
Informational ads on platforms like Facebook and local news sites to reach residents where they spend time online.
Neighborhood & Field Supplies	$10,550	$19,300	$26,575
Lawn signs, door hangers, pins, walk-lists for our volunteers to engage with neighbors directly.
Professional Design & Strategy	$30,500	$30,500	$30,500
Includes graphic design, voter data polling, and professional coordination of campaign logistics.
Operations & Compliance	$1,000	$1,000	$1,000
Very conservative estimate, ensures the campaign remains fully transparent and legally compliant with all state financial reporting.
TOTAL CAMPAIGN GOAL	$106,700	$159,350	$218,025

Your time is valuable

Not all contributions to this campaign need to be financial. We are able to save significant costs—allowing us to reach more voters—through the dedicated help of community volunteers. If you have professional skills or are simply willing to roll up your sleeves, you can help us close the budget gap.

Can you lend us your skills? We are looking, or will be looking, for volunteers to help with:

• Creative & Tech: Website design, digital marketing, or graphic design.
• Materials: Helping distribute yard signs, stickers, or flyers.
• Direct Outreach: Going door-to-door or making phone calls to your neighbors.

By volunteering your time, you help us reduce our overhead and put every available dollar directly into voter education.

Sign up to Volunteer Here

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Data Sources:

• Voter Statistics: District-wide registration (~45,000) is based on the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division (reflecting the full RCSD boundary, including unincorporated areas).
• Likely Voter Universe: Based on historical turnout models for Redwood City K-8 district elections.