District overview
Palo Alto Unified School District
Community-funded school governance, an expiring parcel tax, and active Measure Z construction.
Who controls Palo Alto Unified's priorities and funding?
Five trustees elected to staggered four-year terms set policy, adopt budgets and bonds, appoint and evaluate the superintendent, and act only as a public body. Student representatives participate, and trustees also serve as liaisons to schools and advisory committees. PAUSD is community funded, often called basic aid: local property-tax revenue exceeds its state LCFF entitlement, so property taxes rather than per-student state aid are the principal operating source. Federal and state categorical funds, donations and a voter parcel tax supplement operations, while Measures A and Z bond proceeds are restricted to facilities.
The Board governs as a five-member body
Trustees approve policy, the annual budget, senior leadership, labor agreements and capital authorizations; individual trustees do not direct daily operations.
Local property values drive the operating base
As a community-funded district, PAUSD retains local property-tax revenue above its LCFF entitlement and is less dependent on the state's attendance formula than most California districts.
Parcel-tax revenue is now a live budget risk
The existing levy provides nearly $17 million annually but expires in 2027; the June 2026 reduced-rate renewal received 62.44% support, short of the required two-thirds.
Facilities money is legally separate
Measure Z authorized $460 million for school facilities with citizen oversight; those bond proceeds cannot replace an expiring operating parcel tax.
PAUSD describes its reserves as healthy, but the failed parcel-tax renewal creates a defined recurring-revenue gap beginning after the current levy expires. The adopted FY27 budget exists in BoardDocs, yet the public attachment is blocked from this environment, so this overview does not invent a total or per-student figure.
Local revenue and facilities capacity
The district says the existing levy provides nearly $17 million annually and expires in 2027.
The proposed four-year replacement would have reduced the levy from $941 to $800 per parcel.
13,634 yes votes and 8,201 no votes; a two-thirds vote was required, so the measure did not renew the levy.
Approved in 2018 for construction, rehabilitation, equipment and other eligible facilities purposes; it is not operating revenue.
Major projects
Operating-plan response to the expiring parcel tax
Renewal failed; current levy expires in 2027After Measure B fell short of the two-thirds threshold, the Board must decide how to replace or reduce nearly $17 million in recurring locally controlled revenue before the existing levy ends.
- Board places a reduced-rate four-year renewal on the June ballot
- Measure B receives 62.44% yes, below the required two-thirds
- District budget calendar calls for the first FY27 budget revision in September 2026
- Existing parcel-tax funding is scheduled to expire
Funding
Existing locally controlled parcel tax through 2026-27; replacement funding is not yet established
PAUSD estimated about $15 million annually under failed Measure B and nearly $17 million from the expiring levy.
Greene Middle School library and campus construction
Structural work underway in early 2026The active campus project includes a new library building; the school reported that the structure had gone vertical and planned student construction-site viewing and a final-beam signing.
- School reports the new library frame is standing and construction is moving forward
- Students are scheduled to view the site and sign the final structural beam during the week
Funding
PAUSD Strong Schools facilities-bond program, including Measure Z; the public school update does not state this project's current control budget
The district construction page identifies Measure Z as an active facilities source but does not expose a project-level budget in the readable update.
This overview uses PAUSD's official Board, funding, budget-calendar, parcel-tax, construction and superintendent-update pages, plus the Santa Clara County election notice and certified vote totals reported from the county result feed.
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