The Menlo Park City School District is engaging with you as partners in providing the excellent, community-funded education that we all expect for our children.

The School Board has placed a parcel tax, Measure B, on the November 2, 2021 ballot. This measure will renew existing funding to allow MPCSD to attract and retain quality teachers, keep class sizes reasonable, support core academic programs in reading, writing, math and science, and maintain the fiscal stability of the District. However, even with a passage of Measure B, MPCSD's budget challenges on the horizon remain real and must be managed with public knowledge and input. Future financial sustainability involves a combination of responses including managing the future challenges and passing Measure B.

The School Board held an information session with School Board Members, Superintendent Erik Burmeister, and advisors from the County Office of Education and Capitol Advisors on Monday, October 4, 2021. The discussion focuesd on four key financial stressors in the district's future: loss of Title 1 funding, the city of Menlo Park's mandate to build over 3,000 units of new housing over the next decade, the potential addition of transitional kindergarten, and the potential loss of Tinsley Transfer program funding. The video of this meeting is available to watch here:

MPCSD's Financial Future Board Study Session (meeting video / meeting presentation slides with live links)

As a community-funded district, nearly 90% of MPCSD's revenue comes from local sources: property taxes, parcel taxes, and philanthropic giving through our partners at Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation. Our community strongly supports its schools and 25% of our revenue comes from the choice that our parents and residents make to give to MPAEF and support parcel taxes.

MPCSD's most recent parcel tax passed in 2017 with nearly 80% of the vote. When that measure passed, the district also made over $2 million in cuts as part of providing a four-year runway of financial stability while the School Board worked to create a path to longer term stability. The four-year runway that Measure X provided ended in Spring of 2021, and the district was able to secure another year of stability through careful planning and additional cuts. The School Board has decided to put a replacement parcel tax, Measure B, on the ballot in November 2021; this replacement tax will provide a generation of students and families with stable funding. A replacement parcel tax will not be the only way MPCSD achieves long-term financial stability. To learn more about Measure B visit the campaign website or the San Mateo County office of elections website.

You may reach out with your input, questions, or concerns any time at info@mpcsd.org or write directly to the School Board Members at board@mpcsd.org.