Nicasio voters will decide next Tuesday whether to renew a parcel tax to raise funds for maintaining teacher and staff salaries at Nicasio School. The tax, passed in 2008, provides the school with $150,000 in revenue annually. If passed by a two-thirds marjority, it will effect a 10-year extension on July 1. Rates for Nicasio residents will increase by $99 to an annual total of $573.46; exemptions are available for those 65 and older. Teacher and staff salaries hovered near the bottom of Marin County’s pay scale before the tax, but the tax brought salaries up to the county average in 2008. With salaries secure, the school has been able to attract enough teachers to keep class sizes small. Nicasio School serves 51 students from kindergarten to eighth grade, all taught by three full-time teachers, a kindergarten aid and principal Christy Stocker. Of these students, 21 are inter-district transfers who come mostly from Point Reyes Station, Inverness and Lagunitas. One parent, Mark Burton, dismissed concerns that Nicasio taxpayers will be shouldering the costs for such a high percentage of students living outside the district. He noted that parents like him, who live in the district, want their kids to be part of a larger, more socially healthy student environment in preparation for the transition to high school and beyond. “Our costs are fairly fixed, and the inter-district transfers don’t significantly raise our costs,” he said.