Redistricting measure on ballot to stay; special election will go ahead in November 

Public school advocates, alarmed over the governor’s attack on Proposition 98 minimum school funding guarantees, will be working hard over the next two months to urge a ‘no’ vote on the “California Live Within Our Means Act,” Proposition 76 on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Until recently, it seemed possible that the governor might change his mind and cancel the special election he called earlier this summer. Recent opinion polls have shown that most voters believe a special election is unnecessary and too expensive, and there were serious questions about the legality of the redistricting measure that is a centerpiece of the governor’s special election agenda.

But on Aug. 12 California Supreme Court justices voted 4-2 to permit the Proposition 77 redistricting plan to remain on the ballot, a move that virtually guarantees the election will take place as scheduled. A lower court had ruled that the redistricting measure must be removed from the ballot because of discrepancies in wording between the initiative filed with the state and the version circulated by signature gatherers paid to qualify the measure for the ballot.

Gov. Schwarzenegger is traveling across the country to raise money for his campaign to pass Proposition 77 (redistricting), Proposition 74 (changing teacher tenure laws), and Proposition 76, which would give him broad powers to make mid-year budget cuts and would eviscerate Proposition 98.

Proposition 76 represents a huge threat to schools and public education, opponents say, because it would eliminate the minimum school funding guarantees approved by voters who passed Proposition 98 in 1988 to protect schools from drastic budget cuts. In addition, the measure would give the governor new powers to make across-the-board reductions without legislative approval.

The California School Boards Association and other members of the Education Coalition are vigorously opposing the measure.

“We are participating in media training and focus groups,” said CSBA Assistant Executive Director, Governmental Relations Rick Pratt. “We are spreading the message with groups like the PTA. Voters need to know just how very, very bad Proposition 76 would be for our children and schools.”

Local school boards and county boards of education can download a sample resolution that details reasons for opposing Proposition 76 at the CSBA Web site.

The Alliance for a Better California Coalition, which includes Education Coalition members like the California Teachers Association and the Association for California School Administrators, is also waging war against Proposition 76. CSBA has not joined the coalition because ABC has a broader mission that focuses on a range of issues in addition to school funding.

The CSBA Delegate Assembly has taken a position on only one other measure on the November ballot. Delegates voted to oppose Proposition 74, which – although billed as teacher tenure “reform” – includes language that could make it more difficult and expensive for local districts to remove ineffective teachers.