CSBA launches legislative agenda with co-sponsorship of SCA 3
Published: December 5, 2012
Even as CSBA’s Delegate Assembly was affirming the association’s 2013 legislative agenda last week, its Governmental Relations team was in the process of finalizing commitments by three senators to advance legislation that would lower the voter approval threshold for local parcel taxes to 55 percent.
CSBA made the statewide news Monday with the announcement of its co-sponsorship of State Constitutional Amendment 3 to make it easier for school districts to pass local parcel tax measures to provide supplemental funding for cash-strapped schools. Three influential state senators—Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, Jerry Hill, D-South San Francisco, and Fran Pavley, D-Agora Hills, introduced the measure. If two-thirds of the state Senate and Assembly approve it—a goal facilitated by the Democrats’ new supermajorities in both houses—it will go on a statewide ballot in 2014, when a simple majority will be needed for adoption.
CSBA Executive Director Vernon M. Billy said in a press release that a lower threshold for parcel taxes would give local school boards greater flexibility to help restore educational programs and services eliminated or reduced through the last five years of deep funding cuts and deferrals. He noted the new legislation is substantially similar to previous efforts by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, and to the 55 percent approval made available to school bond votes under Proposition 39, which the state’s voters adopted in 2000.
Billy also tied the issue to voters’ overwhelming endorsement of school funding in passing Proposition 30 last month to preserve education funding this school year.
“While the passage of Proposition 30 stopped the excessive cuts and deferrals to schools, the state’s public education system is still grossly underfunded, ranking 47th out of the 50 states in per-pupil funding,” Billy noted. “As CSBA works with the Legislature and governor on a long-term funding solution to ensure public education is adequately funded, additional solutions are needed now to help restore educational programs.”
Legislative agenda
SCA 3 kick-starts an aggressive CSBA legislative agenda for 2013 that’s focused on the governance role of school boards and resolving the longstanding funding challenges facing local schools, according to Assistant Executive Director for Governmental Relations Dennis Meyers.
“CSBA’s co-sponsorship of SCA 3 illustrates our intent to seek opportunities to draw additional resources to school districts, while continuing our work with the governor and Legislature on long-term, sustained adequate funding for schools,” Meyers said.
In addition to pursuing the association’s policy priorities such as sustained adequate yearly funding and strengthening local school boards’ governance role, the legislative agenda seeks regulatory relief and legislative solutions to ease the fiscal constraints on public schools. Watch for details in the January issue of California School News.