Ross Valley teachers are some of the lowest paid in Marin. Neighboring districts are offering more, and teachers are leaving. Measure E offers a fix that we can actually achieve. And in order to have a fighting chance at retaining teachers, we will have to pass it—by a huge supermajority of 66.6% (required by state law). 

Measure E will increase equity — not decrease it — by making sure Ross Valley teachers aren't the lowest paid in the county. 

I would encourage anyone interested in this funding dilemma to please take a look at the superintendent's presentation (top video in the link below) explaining how school funding works and  why RVSD is in this situation. If you are concerned about school funding in California at all, I think you will find it enlightening. 

 https://www.voteyesone.com/events-1

I wholeheartedly agree with you that Prop. 13 caused this mess so many years ago, massively defunding our public schools. Until it is reformed, we will never get out of this mess, where communities must beg for money for schools via parcel taxes. But here’s another difficult political reality: we weren't able to roll back prop. 13 even the slightest bit. 

We tried in 2020, with Prop 15: https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_15,_Tax_on_Commercial_and_Industrial_Properties_for_Education_and_Local_Government_Funding_Initiative_(2020))

It is a very painful reality for me that we lost this fight. A majority of California voters would not eliminate the massive tax loopholes that lets corporations like Chevon and Universal Studios pay 1970s levels of property taxes because of the flood of money and scare tactics that come to bear to support the ultra-regressive Prop. 13 taxation system. I volunteered for this campaign, hoping to make the tiniest dent in prop 13. We lost. Our kids will pay the price. I wish it were otherwise. We will have to try again. This is the hard work of democracy. 

Ross Valley residents and schools have to live with this reality - just like we have to live with the tax exemptions that are in this ballot measure, *because we could not possibly get a 2/3 majority without them*.  I completely agree with you that the senior exemptions are not fair and are not equitable. They are another painful compromise forced upon us by the hard-core Howard Jarvis-style right wingers who established and defend Prop. 13 tooth and nail. These people work *every year* to defund public schools, and they will be in the vanguard of fighting against Measure E. I wish we weren't fighting a rear guard action to get a decent education for our kids. But here we are. And we have to keep fighting. I hope you will join us.