In Marin County, advocates are bringing back a parcel tax initiative to fund early childhood education for 15 years. The plan aims to raise about $13 million each year through a 5-cent-per-square-foot levy, which would average around $105 annually for most homeowners.
Backed by the Our Kids, Our Future PAC, organizers hope to gather 15,000 signatures to place the measure on the ballot. Thanks to recent court rulings, the plan only needs a simple majority to pass.
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If voters approve it, the money would go toward scholarships, better pay for childcare workers, and building or expanding facilities across Marin. This covers everywhere from San Rafael to Novato, Sausalito to Mill Valley, and plenty of towns in between.
A closer look at the plan and its scope
The Marin County effort follows a wider Bay Area trend toward dedicated early education funding. Proponents point to urgent needs in places like San Anselmo, Larkspur, and Corte Madera.
The initiative would set a 5-cent-per-square-foot tax, aiming for predictability and stability over 15 years. For most Marin homeowners, that’s about $105 a year, though it really depends on your property’s size and location—San Rafael’s flats or Tiburon’s hills, for example.
How the tax would work for Marin homeowners
It’s pretty simple. The county would assess a parcel tax on property to fund an early childhood program, with a 15-year expiration.
Recent court decisions lowered the bar to a simple majority, so it’s easier to pass than in the past. Residents in towns like Mill Valley or Novato might appreciate that the levy is designed to be broadly affordable while still providing steady support for kids and families.
Where the money would go and who benefits
Key allocations would include:
Supporters say this public investment would fill gaps left by missing universal transitional kindergarten. It often doesn’t cover early mornings, after-school, or weekends—times Marin families in places like Tiburon and Greenbrae really need.
The current landscape in Marin
Right now, the Marin Child Care Council gives scholarships to about 900 families, but there’s a waitlist of roughly 650 children. Uncertainty about federal and state funding adds pressure.
Recently, the Marin Community Foundation ended six scholarships at Papermill Creek Children’s Corner, which caused immediate hardship for families and providers. The economics here are tough: full-time care costs about $28,000 a year. Subsidized families report average incomes around $39,000. Childcare workers earn about $23.50 an hour, making it hard for providers from San Anselmo to Lagunitas to hire and keep staff.
Local impact and the county’s towns
Supporters believe a countywide funding stream could deliver stable, universal access to early childhood education. They say it would benefit the whole North Bay, from Fairfax’s hills to Sausalito’s waterfront and San Rafael’s urban core to Novato’s suburbs.
Sonoma County’s model offers a kind of blueprint, and other Bay Area counties have already set up dedicated early childhood funding. Marin’s hoping to join them, with a plan tailored for places like Greenbrae and Corte Madera.
Some folks worry about new taxes. But backers point to long-term payoffs—better educational achievement, improved health, and stronger economic prospects for Marin families in towns like Mill Valley, Tiburon, and San Anselmo.
What happens next and how you can participate
The campaign will start collecting signatures once they print the petitions. They’re aiming for 15,000 signatures.
The Our Kids, Our Future PAC wants to qualify the measure for the ballot across Marin’s towns. That means everywhere from San Rafael to Novato, Sausalito to Larkspur, and even the unincorporated areas—places where families depend on childcare every single day.
Residents all over Marin—maybe you’re near the Mission Bay corridor in Corte Madera, or you’re out by the waterfront in Sausalito—should really keep an eye on this. The future of Marin’s youngest kids, and the families backing them, could come down to a simple majority vote and whether the community decides to fund a new era of early education.
Here is the source article for this story: Proposed tax would bolster Marin childcare
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