Soil testing and reporting will be conducted by a qualified consultant prior to disruption of the soil. After obtaining approvals and necessary permits, construction would begin. During the removal of dirt, an environmental consultant will be present to monitor air quality to ensure the safety of those onsite. 

We will follow OSHA regulations while construction is taking place, as well as following any additional requirements that may come from our environmental consultant and the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).

K-5 classrooms are typically 960 sq ft. TK and K classes are preferably larger, with bathrooms and play yards nearby.   The number of students placed in each class depends on the grade level agreements in our collective bargaining agreement with our labor partners. 

Much depends on how we plan to configure it. Our current model is a TK-5 model.  Current enrollment: Edna has 428 students, OM has 251, Park has 266, Strawberry Point has 241, and Tam Valley has 335.  If we have 428 students at Edna and we divide them among sites, we could house 398 of the 428 students from Edna based on current enrollment at the other sites. (Old Mill can take 61, Park could take 79, Strawberry Point could take 104, Tam Valley could take 154. We would need to add housing for 30 students. 

Much depends on how soon the other schools would be ready and approved to receive other students.   CDE suggests at least a seven-month timeline CDE Timelines

The sea level rise will be a city-wide issue to address. Mill Valley School District will partner in the overall mitigation efforts as appropriate.  Based on existing FEMA flood maps, We are primarily considering increasing existing elevations for portions of the site depending on the options we continue to consider.

Soil testing and reporting will be conducted by a qualified consultant prior to disruption of the soil. After obtaining approvals and necessary permits, construction would begin. During the removal of dirt, an environmental consultant will be present to monitor air quality to ensure the safety of those onsite.

Yes – as long as the Edna facility/site is still being used for its public educational purposes, outstanding Measure C Bonds do not prevent further changes or modifications to the Edna facility.

Measure G contemplates reconfiguring the middle school at the current middle school site.  That said it also has language about changing the project scope and nature.  As such with the appropriate findings and determinations underpinning and justifying that change in course from the existing plans and investments to date, the Board could decide to do so.

If a middle school is built, the sizes of some classrooms may need to be changed to accommodate middle school-specific programs.   As far as enrollment goes, class sizes are bargained with our labor partners. The district will follow class size allocations in the collective bargaining agreements. 

The teachers, parents, and students - as well as community members funding Measure C improvements - would be very upset. Additionally, closing Edna would involve a significant process including the establishment of a District Advisory Committee/ 7-11 Committee on school closures: Closing Schools  Best Practices   Depending on the number of students transferred, CEQA would be triggered at our other elementary schools.  Additionally, we may need to do facilities improvements based on the number of open classrooms available. 

This is a difficult question to answer as it depends on the type and location of improvements. Currently, most of the rooms on each elementary site are used for classrooms or necessary flex spaces, including art, music, PE, library, resource, psychologist, counseling, speech, PTA, etc. Therefore, depending on the footprint available at the school, we likely need to add student classrooms. If we are consolidating from five elementary schools to four elementary schools permanently, we would need to spend time on impact studies and facilities design processes. At a minimum, it is safe to say that a large part of the 36 million used to renovate Edna would also be compromised. 

By law, senior exemptions may not be offered for bond measures. However, since the cost of a bond measure is based on the assessed value of properties, those who have owned their homes the longest and have the lowest assessed values will pay the least for a bond measure. This helps ensure the cost is not a burden to those on fixed incomes.

During the September Board meeting a recommendation was presented to the Board to remove Edna Maguire as a design option for the middle school. The intent is to allow for community involvement on this topic before a final decision is presented during the October Board meeting.

It has been over a decade since Mill Valley last passed a bond measure to improve local schools. Waiting will likely make these repairs more expensive to complete and will mean local students must wait years for urgent upgrades for safety and improvements needed to support quality academic instruction. If approved by voters, Measure G would provide a dedicated source of funding for facility improvements without taking money away from classroom instruction. In addition, interest rates are at all-time lows and now is the time to invest in our schools at the lowest cost possible to taxpayers. Mill Valley recently conducted a survey of local residents which indicated strong (62%) support for a proposed bond measure, even while acknowledging the current state of our economy. 

No, funds from Measure G may only be used to repair and improve local elementary and middle schools.

The law does not provide public entities an option to offer exemptions from a bond tax to certain types of property owners such as seniors.  Under the law, bonds are "evidence of indebtedness payable, both principal and interest, from the proceeds of ad valorem taxes that may be levied without limitation as to rate or amount upon property subject to taxation by the legislative body.”  See EdC 15140.5 and GovC 53507.  The County annually levies a tax for payment of bonds upon all taxable property in the District.  See EdC. 15250.  There is no legal provision permitting exemptions to be offered.

The senior exemption is largely known in the context of parcel taxes which typically finance academic programs (not facilities).  That is because for K-12 school districts, the legislature expressly provided in the text of the parcel tax law the authority for districts to include the offer of certain exemptions, including for seniors and disabled.  The rationale for the exemption in the parcel tax context based on legislative history was stated in the Alameda USD v Borikas case (2013):  "Presumably in the case of school special [parcel] taxes in AB 1440, the rationale for allowing that exemption is that senior citizens receive less direct benefit from schools than other citizens.”

Because proceeds of bonds must be spent on long term capital improvements to schools facilities (mostly real property/immovables) in District boundaries that have long useful lives, and not on programs or salaries that are more short term and not tangible, arguably all properties are benefitted by bond projects.  Thus, an allowance for exemptions has not been incorporated into the bond law.

No. By law, if Measure G is approved by voters, no funds from the measure may be used for operating expenses, including administrator salaries and pensions. Funds may only be used to repair and upgrade local school facilities.

Yes, but parcel tax revenue funds teachers and academic programming in our schools and cannot be used for facilities needs. Bond funds, on the other hand, are used specifically for facilities, including repairing and upgrading our schools. By law, funds from Measure G, if approved by voters, could not be used for operating expenses and can only be used to improve classrooms, labs, facilities, technology and other school furnishings and equipment. Plus, MVSD recently allowed our supplemental parcel tax to expire, which reduced local taxes by $234.08 annually, offsetting most of the cost of this proposed bond measure.

All properties subject to property taxes within District boundaries will be taxed to pay for the bonds. There is no differentiation between residential and commercial.

An independent citizens’ oversight committee comprised of local residents must review the use of all funds from the measure and report their findings to the public each year. Annual independent audits of all bond funds are mandatory.

$1,150,858

District leadership and the Board of Trustees have engaged in an exhaustive multi-year process in order to determine the facilities needs of the district, develop a facility master plan, and investigate potential funding options for facilities needs. Please see this timeline of Board meetings, presentations and workshops where the district's facilities master plan and potential funding avenues have been discussed and developed.

The State and Federal Government do not provide dedicated funding for school facility improvements. The very limited state funding which might be available for facility upgrades generally requires local matching funds, usually provided by a local school improvement measure. Our District has, and will continue to, apply for funding from the state if it becomes available.

No.  All funds generated from the measure would stay local to support Mill Valley schools. The State would not be able to take any funds.

Whether or not you have school-age children, the quality of local schools impacts the quality of life in a community and impacts local home values. Academic research has shown that good local schools create demand for homes and help keep property values strong.

Mill Valley Middle School, which serves all students as they advance from elementary to middle school, was built in 1972 and its aging infrastructure is not designed for 21st century teaching and learning. Significant upgrades are needed to support science, technology, engineering and math classrooms and labs, and to enable collaboration, project-based learning and high levels of student support. Outdated electrical, plumbing, heating and ventilation systems need to be replaced, and upgrades are needed to improve accessibility, energy efficiency, and earthquake and fire safety.

MVSD has carefully assessed the needs at each school site, and worked with school architects to prioritize and plan improvements to provide students with the modern learning environment they need to be successful students and prepared for future 21st-century careers. In order to keep pace with academic standards and keep local students safe, on February 10, 2022, the Mill Valley School District Board of Trustees unanimously voted to place a local school improvement bond measure, Measure G, on the June 7, 2022 ballot. Measure G could generate up to $194 million to repair and improve local schools and would cost about $26 per $100,000 of a property’s assessed value (not market value) while bonds are outstanding.                                                                                                                                                                                     

• The cost of bond measures is based on the assessed value of properties. The assessed value of a property is based on the original purchase price and may not increase by more than 2% a year, while the market value tends to grow at a much faster rate based on market conditions. Thus, the assessed value is usually much lower than the market value, especially if a property was purchased long ago at a much lower price than it could be purchased for today. It is this lower assessed value upon which the cost of a bond measure is based.