Two school districts in Sonoma County will ask voters who live in their respective jurisdictions to consider property tax measures in November’s general election.
The West Sonoma County Union High School District is looking to extend a $79 parcel tax enacted in 1993 for another eight years through Measure G.
Harmony Union School District leaders are asking voters to enact a new four-year, $75 parcel tax that would fund a student farming and culinary program, mental health services and academic programs through Measure M.
Both measures were placed on the ballot by their district boards of trustees.
Measure M
Measure M would help replace cuts to reading and math proficiency programs and fund a school counselor, school psychologist, behaviorist and support staff positions, according to the school district.
It would raise about $177,600 a year, according to an assessment by the County Counsel’s Office.
Harmony Union School Board of Trustees Chair Yuri Koslen, retired teacher Susan McGovern and others urge voters to support the measure to stabilize the school’s funding after it took hits from the loss of state and federal assistance that had been provided in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Without it, they said the school’s unique programs, including its “Garden Enrichment” farm-to-table program — which serves as an outdoor immersive classroom and provides fresh food for the schools’ lunch programs and a community farm stand — could be threatened.
“Our teachers and staff do an outstanding job educating local children, but they need stable local funding to maintain the specialized programs and support services that help every student succeed,” they wrote in their ballot argument to voters.
No arguments were submitted against the measure. The school district sits just south of the unincorporated area of Occidental.
The district has two schools that share a campus — Harmony Elementary School and Salmon Creek School, which is operated as a public charter school. The combined enrollment was about 580 students in the 2024-25 school year, according to the state Department of Education.
Measure G
West Sonoma County Union High School District leaders, meanwhile, are asking voters to approve an extension of a longtime parcel tax that funds a range of general school services and includes funding to attract and retain teachers.
The funds could also be used to fund academic, arts, culinary and other vocational programs, according to a list of approved uses submitted to voters along with the ballot measure.
Measure G would raise about $1.95 million a year, according to the analysis from the County Counsel’s Office.
The district enrolls about 1,550 students a year in two high schools and two alternative education programs.
Sebastopol Police Chief Sean McDonagh helped author the ballot argument in favor of the measure. He and others say students at Analy High School, Laguna High School and the district’s education programs have come to rely on the funding and that the looming expiration of the longtime parcel tax comes at a time when the schools are already facing the loss of state and federal funds.
“With the kind of support provided by the funds from Measure G, our students can become well-rounded, contributing members of the community. Without it, their educational experience will be compromised,” the group of residents writes.
Both measures contain exemptions for residents over 65 years old, and both measures will require two-thirds’ voter approval to pass.