May 30, 2026

Voices of Ross Valley: parents, teachers, business owners, longtime homeowners on Measure H

Most of the material on this site is our analysis of the data, the policy mechanics, and the political situation. But Measure H isn’t an abstraction — it’s a decision about specific schools that specific neighbors care about. This post pulls together on-the-record statements from the Marin IJ’s reporting, the February 11, 2026 board hearing, and the official ballot arguments. Each quote is sourced.

We have not invented any of these voices, fabricated quotes, or paraphrased anyone without attribution. Every speaker has been quoted in primary-source reporting. Their full quotes and context are in the cited sources.

Parents

Vladimir Vakulenko — moved his family to Ross Valley four years ago in part for the schools, testifying at the February 11 board hearing:

“Be bold, be brave… this is a golden moment.”^[1]

Vakulenko backed a $750 increase — at the high end of what the board considered. The board ultimately settled on $540.

Rachel Feibuch — RVSD parent, also testifying at the February 11 hearing:

“At least $700” increase, so that teachers could have “the breathing room and stability they deserve.”^[1]

Teachers and staff

Pete Santucci — lead music teacher in RVSD; 20 years in the district; signed the official Argument in Favor of Measure H:

“I have been part of many staff hiring committees. I have seen first-hand how difficult it is to hire and retain excellent teachers because of the district’s low level of funding from the state… Despite that funding challenge, we have been able to offer excellent educational and artistic programs for our students because of the financial support of our local community. However, if that local funding expires, the cuts to our programs will be catastrophic for the education of our students.”^[2]

And on this year’s contract:

“Teachers received no salary increase this year. Not even a cost-of-living increase. The staff cuts already in place put greater strain on the teachers, staff and administrators who are already among the lowest paid in Marin County.”^[2]

Barbara Forshee — 22-year RVSD veteran teacher, testifying at the February 11 hearing — warned that without the parcel tax “many of our educators would be forced to leave,” potentially including herself.^[1]

Business owners

Frank Gomez — owner of Wink Optics in San Anselmo; signed the official Argument in Favor:

“I support Measure H because our schools and teachers are at the heart of this community. We all have a responsibility to make sure they stay strong and have what they need.”^[2]

Longtime homeowners (without school-age children)

Michael Rosenthal — longtime Fairfax resident and homeowner; signed the official Argument in Favor; explicit that he has no school-age children of his own:

“If we don’t adequately fund our schools, what does that say about us as a community?”^[2]

“I don’t have kids of my own. Still, I believe that education is one of the most worthy destinations for my tax dollars.”^[2]

Rosenthal’s voice is one of the most useful on the Yes side because it directly addresses the “I don’t have kids in the schools, why should I pay?” framing. The answer he gives — community responsibility, civic infrastructure — is the most honest version of the case for non-parent voters.

Elected officials

Steve Burdo — Mayor of San Anselmo; RVSD parent; signed the official Argument in Favor; testified at the February 11 hearing:

“Give you the strongest support at the highest level you think you can pass.”^[1]

Burdo’s testimony was on the higher end of the rate range the board considered. He explicitly urged trustees not to soften the ask.

RVSD trustees

Tyler Graff — RVSD Superintendent — at the February 11 board meeting, framing the urgency:

“June 2 is D Day. It has to happen on June 2, if we want to create stability for our teachers, stability for our families and stability for our kids.”^[1]

And on the CST-suggested $149 alternative:

“$149 wouldn’t resolve any of the district’s budget issues.”^[1]

Graff is the only one in this list who isn’t formally a “neighbor” voting on Measure H — he’s the district’s executive — but his on-the-record statements are the source of much of the contingency-plan and timeline language used throughout the campaign.

Anna Marsh — RVSD Trustee; dissented from placing Measure H on the ballot at the Feb 11, 2026 board vote:

Per Brenner’s reporting, Marsh preferred a $600 increase that would “better meet the district’s urgent need to restore fiscal health.”^[1]

Marsh is a particularly important voice. Her dissent isn’t from the No side — it’s from the side that thinks $540 is too modest relative to the district’s actual budget needs. As we’ve covered in our post on the endorsement coalition, she now publicly endorses Measure H despite her board-vote dissent.

Daniel Cassidy — RVSD Trustee — on the Godbe poll’s finding that 73% of voters approve of district management (vs 65% Yes on Measure H):

“This is a big difference. People are more in favor of how we’re managing the money. That, to me, is a sign that we’re telling the right story.”^[3]

League of Women Voters of Marin

Becky Bingea — President of the League of Women Voters of Marin; signed the official Argument in Favor:

“The Ross Valley School District receives the lowest per pupil funding in Marin County, and their teacher salaries are among the lowest.”^[2]

The tax is needed “to attract and retain highly qualified teachers, maintain manageable class size and protect core academic programs and library services.”^[2]

The LWV’s institutional endorsement is significant because LWV is non-partisan and rigorously evaluates measures on their merits. Bingea’s specific phrasing about “lowest per pupil funding” is about the LCFF base-grant metric — see our post on what ‘lowest in Marin’ actually means for the more nuanced version.

The opposition, in their own words (because we owe it)

We’ve tried throughout this site to represent the opposition argument fairly. The two most-quoted opposition voices are:

A. Sean Aguilar — real estate asset manager; 25-year RVSD parent and volunteer; signed the official Argument Against:

“I’ve proudly supported the Ross Valley School District for over 25 years as a parent, coach, and volunteer. However, with Marin taxpayers facing growing financial pressure and frequent new tax funding requests throughout the region, Measure H feels like more than the Ross Valley community can reasonably absorb at this time. With that in mind, come back to us in November with a balanced proposal of operating economies and a more moderate tax increase.”^[2]

Mimi Willard — President of the Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers:

“The objections we heard most frequently from district residents were along the lines of ‘RVSD’s tax increase this time is even bigger than when I voted No last May.’ Are they not listening?”^[2]

We’ve engaged with both arguments in detail in our post answering the cumulative-burden argument, our post on recovery patterns, and the case for No page.

Our read

What strikes us, reading the on-the-record quotes side by side: the Yes voices include parents who recently moved to the district for the schools, longtime teachers who’ve watched the funding pressure build, business owners with no obvious self-interest, longtime homeowners without school-age children, the mayor of San Anselmo, the LWV president, and a sitting RVSD trustee whose policy disagreement is that the ask is too small.

The opposition voices are real and substantive — Aguilar in particular frames the case constructively rather than reflexively — but the coalition is narrower and the institutional weight is on the other side.

We’d rather you read the full Marin IJ pieces than rely on our excerpts. The links are in the sources. The quotes are what they are; the people speaking them are our neighbors.

That’s why we recommend a Yes vote on Measure H.

Sources

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