The Abridged version:
- Sacramento City Unified’s proposed parcel tax, billed as a boost to special education funding, is on track to fall short of the required two-thirds vote.
- Among the handful of local school bond measures on this year’s ballots, a few appear to be surging toward success, including in Natomas. Others, like in Rocklin, are on the precipice of failing.
- Votes continue to be tallied across counties, and another update is expected Friday afternoon.
Early results are discouraging for the Sacramento City Unified School District’s proposed parcel tax, advertised as a way to bring in additional funds for special education.
As of Friday, 52% of votes counted were in favor of the measure and 48% were against.
Parcel taxes require 67% approval to pass, a tougher threshold than the more commonly employed bond measure. Given that gap between the current count and the required threshold, the parcel tax appears likely to fail.
“It’s unfortunate that a small parcel tax like this needs two-thirds,” said Nikki Davis Milevsky, Sacramento City Teachers Association president.
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A handful of Sacramento area school districts, operating on tight budgets while facing mounting infrastructure needs and costs, turned to voters this November asking for millions of — or in one case, a billion — extra dollars.
So far, results are mixed. Two measures sit comfortably past the necessary 55% approval. Most teeter on the edge of falling short, though votes continue to be tallied.
The next election update is expected Friday afternoon.
‘The threshold is so high’
Sacramento City Unified’s proposed tax is furthest from the votes needed to pass.
The cash-strapped school district had asked residents to greenlight an annual $95 tax per piece of property. Its revenue, estimated at $10 million a year, would go toward expanding the district’s special education early intervention program, officials said.
Coming off subpar Election Day results, school board member Jasjit Singh said leaders are still watching for updates. If the measure does fall short of the two-thirds requirement, he said he does not see the outcome as a lack of support for the district.
“The threshold is so high,” Singh said.
Singh pointed to difficult economic conditions, which he said make giving up an additional $95 a year difficult for many households.
“As much as they might want to help us, they just can’t right now,” Singh said.
The proposed parcel tax faced stiff opposition, unusual for a school-related ballot measure. Parents and former district leaders argued against it, and a “No on Measure M” campaign formed, funded by the California Association of Realtors and National Association of Realtors.
“That’s not a district that needs $10 million with no strings,” the campaign’s website stated.
In 2024, Sacramento City Unified officials put a bond measure on the ballot, needing 55% approval. It passed with more than 74% of voters saying yes.
‘We’re just waiting’
It’s a waiting game in Rocklin, too, where school leaders asked voters for a $288 million bond.
Results Friday showed the measure with 52% approval among counted votes — three points below what’s needed.
The money was slated for what district officials estimated is about $300 million in infrastructure needs across campuses.
Sundeep Dosanjh, a Rocklin Unified spokesperson, said leaders aren’t talking contingency plans or getting ahead of the next anticipated results update.
“We’re just waiting for the next drop,” he said.
Other districts are similarly on standby.
A $43 million bond measure for Galt’s high school district sits at nearly 54% approval. In Winters, 53.5% of votes so far are in favor of a $29 million measure.
Community college bond leads
The biggest school-related bond measure on Yolo and Sacramento County ballots belonged to the Los Rios Community College District.
That proposed $1.1 billion bond would go toward a lengthy project list, from fixing the roof and pipes at the district’s oldest campus to upgrading classrooms and constructing new athletic facilities.
By Friday, the measure was comfortably leading in Sacramento County with 62.75% of votes counted and in Yolo County with 68.4% of votes.
The Los Rios district spans the majority of Sacramento County and the eastern portion of Yolo County, as well as most of El Dorado County, plus slivers of Placer and Solano counties.
Voting on — and paying for — the bond was limited, though, to two counties, a decision leaders have said was practical given where almost all of their facilities are located. Opponents had criticized the move as gerrymandering.
Other measures enjoy a lead
Other school districts’ measures came out of Election Day ahead by a healthy margin.
Leaders in Center Joint Unified, which covers Antelope, Elverta and Roseville, put a $197 million ask on the ballot. So far, 67% of Sacramento County votes are in favor and 54% in Placer County approved.
A $300 million measure in Natomas Unified sailed to 71% approval.
And in Tahoe Truckee Unified, a proposal to reup a parcel tax has support from 72% of votes counted in Placer County and 66% of tallied ballots in El Dorado County.
Update: This story was updated at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, to reflect the latest vote counts.
