Bolinas-Stinson Union School District clears parcel tax pitch for ballot

The new five-year measure would start at $390 per parcel, which is the prior tax when adjusted for inflation, according to the superintendent.

Voters in the Bolinas-Stinson Union School District will be asked to renew the district’s parcel tax on the Nov. 5 ballot.

The tax was approved by voters in 2018 at $318 per parcel for a five-year term. It expires on June 30, 2025.

The new five-year measure would start at $390 per parcel, which is the prior tax when adjusted for inflation, said Leo Kostelnik, the district superintendent. The measure needs a two-thirds majority to pass.

The prior measure did not have a 3% annual “escalator,” as is customary in most Marin school districts, Kostelnik said. The new measure would add the 3% annual increase, so in the future there will be no need to adjust for inflation.

“We never asked for an annual increase before,” Kostelnik said. “This way, at the end of five years, it will just be a straight renewal.”

Senior exemptions would remain in place. Residents who already have senior exemptions would not need to reapply. The senior exemption is available to residents who turn age 65 before July 1 of any applicable year.

“All current exemptions will carry over and apply to the renewed parcel tax,” said Johanna Scott, the district’s executive assistant.

The district has about 120 students and an annual budget of approximately $6.1 million. Kostelnik said the district’s parcel tax generates about $682,500 annually. The district has about 1,745 property owners, he said.

“It pays for visual and performing arts programs, physical education and Spanish,” Kostelnik said.

According to a resolution passed by the board in June, additional uses for the tax revenue include maintaining adequate per-student allowances, updating classroom texts and maintaining instructional equipment.

The Bolinas-Stinson Union School District is one of two Marin school districts to place a parcel tax on the Nov. 5 ballot. The Sausalito Marin City School District will also ask voters to approve a parcel tax in November. It would be the district’s first parcel tax.