Voters in the financially-strapped Sacramento City Unified School District will be asked to approve a parcel tax this November to fund special education. The tax, which will appear on the ballot as Measure M, would charge $95 annually for each property in the district though there would be some exemptions for people with disabilities and those older than 65.
The school district’s Board of Education voted in July to place the measure on the ballot. Sac City Unified officials say it’s needed to cover the district’s shortfall of funds for federally mandated services for students with disabilities. If passed, the measure would raise $10 million annually. People receiving Social Security Disability benefits, Social Security Supplemental Income, or people who are 65 and older can apply for an exemption from the tax.
This special education funding shortfall, according to the district, stems from the federal passage of what’s now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. When passed in 1975, the federal government promised to pay up to 40% of the national average per-pupil expenses of each student with disabilities.
Measure M states the federal government has never met that standard, and that the current level of funding the federal government provides sits at around 13%. Jason Burke, who works in special education with the district, said the number of students with disabilities has climbed dramatically.
“Two to three years ago, we had about 5,000 students in special education, and now we have 8,000,” Burke said. “We’ve seen a large increase with the amount of students in special education… We have not seen an increase in funding.”
Over the past year, the school district has been in the throes of a financial crisis. Since December 2025, the district has been facing an over $100 million deficit and potential state take over.
Supporters say Measure M is one small way to help Sac City Unified, while opponents argue they’re worried about the district’s track record of mismanaging money.
Kellie Swayne, a realtor in the Sacramento area and a parent whose kids attend school in the district, said she opposes the measure.
“The fiscal position of this district is dire,” Swayne said. “Asking our families to bear an additional financial burden, by a body who has not shown responsible management of money, is unnerving to me.”
By contrast, Nikki Davis Milevsky, president of the Sacramento City Teacher’s Association, said the amount is a small price to pay for kids with special needs.
“It’s really a minimum amount of money,” Davis Milevsky said. “$7.70 a month, 26 cents a day, to help the students that are the most vulnerable.”
Swayne said she’s not swayed by that argument. Instead, she said families in the region already face an affordability crisis that has no end in sight. She said that while she wants teachers and students to be supported, it shouldn’t be on the backs of taxpayers.
“This is not just a microcosm of ‘just $95 more,’” Swayne said. “People are getting priced out of just living, and any additional cost to our families, we just can’t bear it right now.”
The tax will increase a maximum of 3% every year to keep pace with inflation.
Meanwhile, Davis Milevsky said that since the climbing cost comes from a federal mandate that hasn’t been funded federally, the costs to meet these standards need to come from somewhere. Usually, that’s from the general fund, money that could be used to help dig the district out of the budget hole it’s currently in.
“They have to spend general fund dollars, funds that are trying to provide classrooms and services throughout the whole district,” Davis Milevsky said. “That money needs to be instead spent on a few students that have a lot of high needs… It just means less money for everyone to go around.”
Tab Berg, who’s on the board of the Sacramento Taxpayer’s Association, said the tax would be levied on Sacramentans inequitably.
“It taxes a first-time home buyer or a low-income home buyer at the same rate it’s going to tax somebody who owns a multi-million dollar mansion in the Fabulous Forties,” Berg said.
Berg said he’s also concerned about the mismanagement of the district’s money, even if the tax revenue is specifically earmarked for use with special education. In 2024, the Sacramento Grand Jury released a report that accused the district of not meeting the needs of students in special education.
“They have to be spending the money that actually benefits students, which they’re not doing,” Berg said. “The Grand Jury was very clear in this. They are failing, absolutely failing the most vulnerable students, so saying we just need more money is a rather disingenuous claim.”
The measure would fund both special education and early intervention for students with disabilities. The Grand Jury investigation called on the district to institute early intervention programs, which helps students with disabilities stay in general education classes. This can help decrease the cost of special education.
“We need to have a dedicated funding source to help us provide these services,” Davis Milevksy said. “[It’s] the best way to lower the need for special education is to intervene early with students, give them what they need before they need to be qualified for special education.”
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