CSBA: yes on Prop. 1D, no on 88 and 90
Published: October 1, 2006
CSBA is urging voters to approve Proposition 1D, the $10.4 billion school facilities bond that the association helped to put on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Proposition 1D, the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2006, would provide money to relieve overcrowding, modernize aging schools, improve earthquake safety and fund career technical educational facilities. The bond measure would raise $7.3 billion for K-12 facilities and $3.1 billion for community colleges and state universities.
CSBA co-sponsored legislation that authorized the multibillion-dollar education bond on the November ballot. A sample resolution supporting Proposition 1D is posted at www.csba.org, and the association is developing other materials in support of the initiative.
The measure, which contains strict accountability provisions, has widespread support, both among educational organizations such as the California Teachers Association and PTA, and among taxpayer and business groups including the California Business Roundtable and the state Chamber of Commerce. Opinion polls show many voters favor 1D’s provisions for safer buildings and career and technical education facilities.
On other ballot items, CSBA opposes Proposition 90, which would severely restrict government agencies’ powers of eminent domain, and Proposition 88, the statewide parcel tax for education.
As drafted, Proposition 90 would greatly inflate the costs of property acquisition and impose undue burdens on the process. It is part of a nationwide movement that neglects the protections property owners already enjoy under California law.
Proposition 88 would enact an annual $50 parcel tax to supplement education funding—but it would also impose new restrictions on the use of class-size reduction funds and could affect a school district’s eligibility for state bond funding for construction or modernization. It would also criminalize the “misuse” of funds without distinguishing between inadvertent errors and intentional illegal behavior.
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