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The Redwood City School District faces ongoing budget deficits, program reductions and additional challenges following the narrow defeat of parcel tax Measure C on the June 2 ballot.
Still, the measure’s proponents remained encouraged, given that the vote showed strong support, and at least one RCSD board member believes that’s a strong signal to make another attempt.
“I do,” Board President David Weekly said Friday, June 19, when asked if the district could pursue such an initiative again.
“Parcel taxes are the only way we can directly raise revenues to increase teacher pay to stay competitive with nearby districts, especially for new talent,” he said in an email to the Redwood City Pulse. “Nothing impacts student achievement more than the quality of a teacher we can put in the front of their classroom.”
Measure C garnered 65.3% yes votes (15,654 district voters) – just short of the two-thirds supermajority needed, according to the semi-official count from the San Mateo County elections office. Election results are set to be certified July 2.
The measure would have generated $12.2 million annually over eight years and helped fund teaching positions, educational programs and managing class sizes in the K-8 district.
“It’s obviously a disappointment to come up just shy of the mark we needed to hit to pass the measure but a clear sign that we live in a community that does support and value public education,” Weekly said.
Superintendent John Baker echoed that sentiment in a message to the community, saying, “the results tell an important story” of more than 15,600 voters casting their ballot “in support of local schools and local students.”
The near-win “is a reminder that Redwood City values its public schools and remains committed to the success of its students,” Baker said.
Jessica Shade, an organizer for the Yes on C committee, also chose to take positives from election night and the campaign leading up to it.
“One of the most encouraging parts of this process was seeing the community come together around a shared goal,” Shade said. “Parents, teachers, classified staff, community members, business leaders and district leadership all spent countless hours working together because they care deeply about local schools. Those relationships and that sense of shared purpose don’t disappear because one measure fell short.”
Without Measure C, she said, the district will have to brace for “further budget cuts, larger class sizes and fewer resources for students. Ultimately, it’s the kids who will feel those impacts most directly.”
Weekly expects those impacts to hit beginning “in the 2027-2028 school year where we start to see a gap between the world in which Measure C had passed versus not,” he said. Among the concerns, “recruiting teachers into vacancies from departures and retirements is going to get more challenging.”
Supporters saw the measure as a way to provide competitive compensation to attract and retain highly qualified instructors, counselors and other school staff. They also argued that because of the Bay Area’s steep cost of living, the Redwood City district is at risk of losing exceptional educators to more affordable communities or better-paying school districts.
“Obviously, there’s more we are going to need to do mid- to long-term to right-size the district to operate efficiently,” Weekly said. The district will also have to “focus our spending on efforts most likely to lead to increased student achievement, especially those that can help ensure that all our students are fully English literate by the end of third grade.”
He noted that the district, in recent years, has already “has engaged with the public and staff to work on structured budget cuts and spending discipline to reduce administrative overhead while minimizing impact on classrooms, freeing up dollars we can use for instruction.”
Over the past two years, the district has implemented ongoing budget reductions and cost savings totaling about $13 million.
Before the district decided to put Measure C on the ballot, a grassroots parents group was exploring a community-initiated parcel tax proposal as an alternative to address the district’s funding crunch.
The group backed off from the citizen initiative when district officials approved going for Measure C but now could revive that effort.
Conversations will continue “about how best to support our schools,” said Shade, also a member of the group. “That could include exploring a future citizen-led initiative, pursuing partnerships with foundations and community organizations, or identifying other creative funding opportunities. I don’t think anyone has definitive answers yet, but I do know this is an incredibly resourceful community.”
Weekly acknowledged a citizens’ ballot initiative is appealing in that it requires only a simple majority to pass, whereas the more-traditional district-sponsored measure needs two-thirds.
“But it’s my understanding that there are additional legal and political complexities given the boundary of our district with pursuing a citizen-led initiative,” he said. However, “I think the will is there in the community to support our schools, and I’d be excited about any medium we could use to offer teachers competitive pay.”
