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By Staff Editorial
(Illustration by Jackie Trejo)
By Staff Editorial
Everyone knows now there is no money for education and the restraint is tighter.
Gov. Jerry Brown has introduced our Holy Grail; the Jesus shaped toast, the tortilla with the face of Mary Magdalene, our savior Proposition 30.
Proposition 30 is an initiative that will raise sales tax by one-quarter of a cent for four years, and an increase on taxpayers who make more than $250,000 a year for seven years. It will also guarantee public safety funding and housing for prison inmates.
It is for all of us wishing money would rain down and soothe the wound left by the 2008 defeat of Proposition 92 that would have lowered tuition and added 10.46 percent of allocated funds to Community Colleges a year.
To confuse voters even further this November there is a second proposition with similar guidelines and a few small differences.
Separately, both appear to be earnest ideals to fix this horrible crisis facing schools, but taking a deeper look proves that Prop 38 is missing a big chunk of what needs to be done.
For instance:
Proposition 38 wants to raise revenue for our K-12 and Head Start education programs, alienating those in the college system.
It also wants to raise taxes on all individuals at least four-tenths of 1 percent on incomes after deductions of $35,000.
No one wants higher taxes; this is the exact reason Proposition 92 failed in 2008. This bill has a clear definition of how it will only fix k-12 schools.
At first glance, these are two fantastic ideas to raise money for education. However, all educational institutions in the state of California are suffering, whether the teachers’ union is pissed off or the community college is suffering because of waitlisting and overcrowding.
There is no need to have two tax measures on a ballot that undermine the other, all it does is confuse voters and force them to pick sides that are virtually the same.
There is no money for education, early childhood development is suffering, colleges are suffering why not merge the two ideals and raise $10 billion to add to our college and K-12 budgets instead of having it separately.
The risk of both measures cancelling each other out will just force us into another four years of more cuts.
Students won’t want to finish college nor enroll their children in programs because they won’t be worth anything in the end; not because we don’t have money, but because we fail to realize how to generate that money to save ourselves.
For the college-minded, Proposition 30 is the better of the two initiatives if you ignore the fact that money will be divided among other programs and that sales tax will be at 7.50 percent rather than 7.25 percent.
For supporters of K-12 education, a measure that restricts the government from spending money set specifically for education is an outstanding idea, because that’s how this whole mess got started in the first place.
It also gives money and keeps teachers and students in classrooms.
So how can you be asked to choose?
The community colleges have already fixed their budgets as if Proposition 30 will pass.
Which means if the proposition does not pass, an estimated $6 billion in cuts can come down, which will strangle colleges even further.
So how can you be asked to choose which is the better choice when the choice has already been made for us?
How can we be asked to deny the child a right to pre-school or education?
Why would anyone use an opposing bill to confuse the rest of us who have no idea what’s going on in the school system?
Just imagine losing summer and winter quarters, and then being asked to leave because you’ve been in college too long.
This money has been grossly mismanaged for years.
Unfortunately, this November you’re going to have to choose, Prop 30 is the only bill on the ballot that wants education for all, Prop 38 just seems to be a ploy to distract us from what is important.
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