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Final results for last week’s special election on two parcel tax measures for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District released this week show neither measure reaching the required two-thirds approval by voters to pass.
The Contra Costa County elections office released the final count for the May 7 special mail election on Thursday, with results continuing to show both measures supported by a majority of voters, but well below the required two-thirds threshold necessary to pass.
Measure E, introduced as a nine-year renewal of the district’s existing $144 parcel tax that is set to expire in 2025, was supported by 62.95% of voters and rejected by 37.05% as of the final count, with Measure F, a supplementary $98 parcel tax, coming in with 57.86% of voters in favor and 42.14% opposed.
The district’s current parcel tax – which Measure E was aimed at replacing – generates $6.8 million annually, with Measure F having been projected to bring in an additional $4.7 million in funding.
After the results update on May 8, district officials said that afternoon that they were disappointed by early tallies showing both measures failing to pass, but that they were hopeful the race could flip in their favor as 4,300 more ballots were left to count. The fate of both measures began to be clear, however, as of an updated count on May 10 that showed just 200 ballots remaining.
A total of 27,601 out of 107,257 ballots were cast in the special election, meaning a voter turnout of 25.73%. Of the ballots cast, more voters appear to have selected a preference for Measure E than for Measure F, with 27,417 combined “yes” and “no” votes for Measure E, and 26,821 combined votes for Measure F.
While the outcome is a blow to the district, currently facing a budget shortfall due to a range of factors, officials will have another chance to seek to pass one or both measures in a regular election ahead of the expiration of the current $144 parcel tax measure in place until next summer.
Correction: A previous version of the story incorrectly described Measure F and voter participation in the May 7 special election. Measure F would have been a $98 per parcel tax, and the total number of votes cast was 27,601, out of 107,257 eligible voters. Embarcadero Media regrets the errors.
