Strong Schools, Strong Lafayette: Why Measure H Is a Vote for All of Us
June 2026 Ballot | Lafayette School District Parcel Tax
There's a question worth asking the next time you're grabbing coffee on Mt. Diablo Boulevard, walking your dog along the trail, or chatting with a neighbor over the fence: What makes Lafayette, Lafayette?
The answer almost certainly includes our schools.
Great schools are woven into the fabric of what makes this community exceptional — and not just for families with kids in the classroom. They shape property values. They attract young families and small business owners who keep our downtown alive. They are a signal to anyone considering a move here that Lafayette is a place that invests in its future.
That's why Vibrant Lafayette is proud to endorse Measure H — the Lafayette School District parcel tax on the June 2026 ballot — and why we're asking you to vote yes and talk to your neighbors about why it matters.
What Is Measure H?
Measure H is a local parcel tax that would replace an existing school parcel tax set to expire. It would generate dedicated, locally controlled funding for Lafayette's K–8 neighborhood schools. Local funding is essential in order to:
Maintain small class sizes to support student achievement
Attract and retain excellent, highly qualified teachers
Preserve core academic programs in math, science, technology, reading, music, and the arts
Every dollar raised stays right here in Lafayette. The measure includes independent citizen oversight, annual audits, and a senior exemption — meaning it's designed with accountability and fairness built in from the start.
Here's the context that makes this urgent: California's school funding formula ranks Lafayette among the lowest-funded districts in the state. State and Federal funding leaves a $5300 gap per student that has to be filled by local funding. Our District has taken this fiscal reality to heart. Over the past two years, our schools have absorbed over $4 million in ongoing budget cuts over the past two years. Any further cuts will be felt in classrooms by our students. Without Measure H, the programs and staffing levels that define Lafayette's educational reputation are at serious risk.
This Is About More Than Schools
We know that not everyone in Lafayette has children in the district. You might be an empty nester. You might be a young professional. You might have chosen private school or moved here long after your kids graduated. And you might be wondering: why should I care?
Here's why: the quality of our schools is inseparable from the quality of life we all enjoy.
When Lafayette's schools are strong, families choose to put down roots here — and those families shop at our local businesses, fill our downtown restaurants, and join our civic organizations. Strong schools attract the engaged, community-minded residents who show up to neighborhood meetings, volunteer at local events, and build the kind of social fabric that makes a place feel like home.
Strong schools protect our property values. Homes in top-rated school districts consistently command a premium, and that benefits every homeowner — whether you have a kindergartener or are thinking about retirement.
Strong schools also mean teachers and staff who live and spend locally, coaches who lead our youth sports leagues, and a steady pipeline of young people who grow up here, form connections, and someday return to raise their own families.
In other words: investing in our schools is investing in everything that Vibrant Lafayette is working toward — a thriving downtown, a connected community, a place where people of all ages and stages want to be.
What You Can Do Right Now
Voting yes is the most important step. But we'd ask you to go one step further: talk to your neighbors.
Parcel tax measures require a two-thirds supermajority to pass. That means every conversation counts. Tell the couple next door who moved here five years ago. Tell your book club. Tell the fellow you see every morning on the Lafayette-Moraga Trail. Tell anyone who cares about this town being the place we all know it can be.
And if you want to do more at strongschoolsstronglafayette.com:
Endorse Measure H
Sign up to volunteer with the Yes on H campaign
Display a yard sign to show the community where you stand
The Bottom Line
Lafayette didn't become one of the best places to live in the Bay Area by accident. It happened because generations of residents made the choice to invest — in their neighbors, in their community, and yes, in their schools.
Measure H is that same choice, presented to us again in June 2026. It's a chance to say that we believe in what makes Lafayette special, and that we're willing to protect it.
Vote Yes on Measure H. Then go tell someone why.