Santa Monica Parcel Tax Trails in Vote Count

Measure ES, a $495-a-year tax to replace City school funding, is losing as ballots are counted in the November 2026 election.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Elections

Flat-color editorial illustration of a plain civic building facade with a motionless flag under a pale coastal sky, in deep navy, cream, and muted red. — Santa Monica voters trailed on Measure ES, a $495-a-year parcel tax to replace about $12 million in annual City school funding, as early November 2026 counts showed 52.9 percent against. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Would you support a $495 yearly parcel tax to fund local schools?

Santa Monica voters were trailing on Measure ES, a $495-a-year parcel tax that would replace City school funding. Early counts released by the County at 4:30 p.m. on November 4, 2026 showed 13,521 votes in favor (47.8 percent) and 15,197 against (52.92 percent).

Why it matters

The measure would have replaced about $12 million a year the City currently gives the School District under a Master Facilities Use Agreement expiring June 30, 2027. Supporters contend the District can no longer depend on the cash-strapped City for permanent funding.

Measure ES required a simple majority and sought an estimated $12 million a year with no expiration date, rising annually with inflation. Its 47.8 percent support trailed the 52.92 percent opposition in the reported count, and remaining ballot counts were not described in the source data.

The players

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

The school district serving Santa Monica and Malibu, which would receive the proposed parcel tax revenue and currently receives about $12 million a year from the City under a facilities agreement.

City of Santa Monica

The municipal government that currently pays the School District about $12 million a year and whose Council considered placing a parcel tax on the ballot.

The details

Education activists gathered signatures from 10 percent of Santa Monica's registered voters to place the measure on the ballot, lowering the approval threshold to a simple majority. The Council had previously considered a $540-per-parcel tax requiring a two-thirds vote, which showed weak support in a January 2026 survey.

May 2010: A Measure A parcel tax for the School District failed to reach a two-thirds vote.
January 2026: The Council considered placing a $540-per-parcel tax on the ballot.
November 4, 2026: Election day; vote counts released at 4:30 p.m. showed Measure ES trailing.
June 30, 2027: The City-School District Master Facilities Use Agreement expires.

Political Context

Measure ES follows the May 2010 Measure A parcel tax for the School District, which failed to reach the two-thirds vote then required. Supporters' citizen petition lowered the threshold to a simple majority, a route the Council's own two-thirds option did not provide.

If approved, Measure ES would levy $495 per parcel each year, rising with inflation with no expiration date, to fund Santa Monica and Malibu public schools. Its outcome determines whether the School District keeps roughly $12 million a year that the City currently provides under an agreement expiring June 30, 2027.

The takeaway

Local school funding can depend heavily on a single city payment set to expire, making voter-approved parcel taxes a key long-term planning question for districts. Residents should watch how the County's remaining ballot counts and the 2027 agreement deadline shape future district budgets.