Good news on parcel tax elections, deferrals comes out of AEC
55 percent approval for parcel taxes sought
Published: December 5, 2012
Public school supporters took heart in two important developments in recent days:
- Three state senators formally proposed a constitutional amendment Monday to allow local educational agencies to pass parcel taxes with 55 percent voter approval instead of the two-thirds majority currently required.
- State Treasurer Bill Lockyer told a CSBA Annual Education Conference luncheon audience last Friday that nearly $2.4 billion in deferred appropriations to local educational agencies would be released early or on time.
CSBA is a sponsor of Senate Constitutional Amendment 3, authored by state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and Sens. Jerry Hill, D-South San Francisco, and Fran Pavley, D-Agora Hills. If their bid receives a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and Assembly—facilitated by the Democrats’ new two-thirds majorities in both houses—it will go on a statewide ballot in 2014, when a simple majority will be needed.
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 also 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.”
Good news on deferrals
State Treasurer Lockyer delivered his good news on deferrals at AEC’s CSBA Legislative Network Luncheon, and CSBA Assistant Executive Director for Governmental Relations Dennis Meyers broadcast it a day later via a live Internet transmission of the conference’s State of the State panel discussion that’s archived here for viewing through Dec. 31.
“I have some news for you,” Meyers said, paraphrasing Lockyer. “You’re all scheduled to get a payment on a deferral in January. We’re sending that out now. … The March deferral that is scheduled to take place is not going to happen. We’re canceling that. It was like he carried money bags into the room,” Meyers continued. “It was amazing, it just kind of lifted the room.”
Lockyer, state Controller John Chiang and state Finance Director Ana Matasantos offered more detail in a letter to legislative leaders, putting the expedited release of K-12 funds this month at $1.57 billion; those appropriations were originally owed to schools last summer and fall. The March payment of $800 million will be released on time instead of deferred until April. However, schools and colleges will still wait until the 2013-14 fiscal year for $10.4 billion that’s owed to them this year.