Vantage point: It’s time to ‘Stand Up For Education’
By:
CSBA President Jill Wynns
Published: August 14, 2012
As we expected, we now have two tax proposals on the November ballot, Proposition 30, the Schools and Public Safety Protection Act, also known as “the governor’s initiative,” and Proposition 38, Our Children, Our Future.
Both will increase tax revenue for the state by raising the personal income tax. Gov. Jerry Brown’s measure will also temporarily restore the sales tax increase that expired last year. This will help the state to get over the horrible budget crisis we are now experiencing. The sales tax will last for four years; the income taxes will expire after seven years. For schools, it will prevent the huge $5 billion additional cut we must endure if the tax measures fail.
The second measure will provide billions in additional revenue for schools for 12 years, although for the first four years 30 percent of the money will go to the state’s general fund to help with its current budget problems. The increase in school funding will be minimal for the first few years until the state’s economy recovers, which is also true of the governor’s proposal.
In May, your Delegate Assembly took the courageous position of endorsing both tax measures. These proposals are not perfect; they are not what we would design if we were creating a new funding system for schools. As of yet, we are the only statewide education organization to take this “Yes-Yes” position, joined by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. We are urging our member districts to pass resolutions in support of this position. If you have not already done so, please get this on your agenda and get it passed as soon as possible.
This is only the first step in our new campaign, Stand Up For Education. CSBA will provide you with outreach materials that you can use as you campaign for Proposition 30 and Proposition 38 this fall.
Please go to our website, www.csba.org, and click on the Stand Up For Education icon. You will find a sample resolution and other materials that you can modify for your local communities.
This is the greatest funding crisis California schools have ever faced. Proposition 30 is an emergency, stop-gap measure that will help the budget for the next few years as the economy recovers. Proposition 38 begins to address the long-term needs of schools in our state.
At least one of these revenue measures must pass. The public education system may be irreparably damaged, perhaps even destroyed, without additional funding. If there is negative campaigning against these measures, it is far more likely that both will fail. By getting as many people as possible to support both measures, we can help to minimize the anti-school funding rhetoric and make it far more likely that at least one will pass. If both pass—all the better. The one with the higher number of votes will take effect. But if the voters pass both measures, they will be signaling their willingness to fund public schools, now and in the future. We need them to vote for schools in November—Yes on Proposition 30 and Proposition 38!
Either is better than neither; if we choose, we lose.