Santa Barbara Educators Support Proposition 30

Education is a good investment, no doubt!

The very best, which leads me to ask why the Governor couldn't come up with a better way to balance the budget should Prop 30 lose than to gut education.

@blackpoodles ... the CA state budget and school funding mechanisms are really confusing and I'm no expert. But here's my interpretation after reading these two documents:

How California's Schools Get Their Money:
http://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2009/090202_S...

The Governor's proposed budget:
http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/pdf/Enacted...

It seems the simple answer is ... while K-12 schools get their funding from many sources, the state provides ~60% of all their funding. Almost all state contributions come from the general fund. And Proposition 98 mandates what the minimum level of state funding must be ... in a bad economy, the state must spend ~40% of general revenues on the schools.

So, if Proposition 30 passes, there will be more taxes collected to go into the general revenue kitty and therefore Prop 98 will mandate more funds for K-12 than if Prop 30 doesn't pass and taxes collected are less.

The projected difference in statewide K-14 spending mandated by Prop 98, depending on whether Prop 30 passes or is defeated, is $2.9B (see page 5 of the budget).

I believe this $2.9B difference is the "cut" Bill Cirone is referring to in the article ($27.8M is the local impact).

In summary, I would not say Prop 30 guts education if it loses ... I prefer to think that either way, education will get what Prop 98 mandates. The higher the general tax revenue, the more Prop 98 can provide the schools.

(Tell me if I'm wrong, but at least give me credit for trying to figure this out - it took me 3 hours!)

So what would happen if we just cut out the teacher's unions and all the money went to the schools? And this proposal is not going to impact any of our local schools.

i appreciate your First Amendment right to display your ignorance, Muggy, but to "...cut out the teacher's unions..." doesn't get money to schools unless you think union dues would now go to the Districts. (Or you think the "cut out" would also make cuts to salaries which would then funnel into school budgets.)

The second part -- "this proposal is not going to impact any of our local schools" -- is just plain wrong, leading me to guess you haven't read the language of the Prop.and you are simply parroting a gripe heard elsewhere, rather than putting thought into your post.

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php...

A summary of 2012-2013 education finance for those wonks who are interested:

http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/el/le/yr12lt...

Also, the actual 2012-2013 state budget passed by the legislature (pre-approved budget was posted earlier):

http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/Enacted/Bud...

Question ... does Prop 30 need to pass by at least a two-thirds vote? Or is that restriction only for votes in the legislature?

I voted with our Board to support Proposition 30 with the understanding that there is no guarantee as to what will happen if Proposition 30 passes but we definitely believe it will result in $6,000,000 to the Santa Barbara Unified School District for this school year and future years. I can guarantee that if it doesn't pass our teachers and staff will take 7 furlough days this school year, our students will have 5 fewer school days and we will potentially have the same $6,000,000 problem for the next school year. I can also let you know that we currently only receive less than 80% of what Proposition 98 promises our school district and it was recently confirmed by a Superior Court Judge that their is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits the state from redirecting funds away from schools. I'm voting for Proposition 30 because it still is best for the education of our children this year and future years. We should be increasing and not decreasing days in the classroom. It takes a simple majority to pass. If you have any questions regarding this please give me a call at 805 687-7639 or email me at edheron@cox.net.
Ed Heron, Trustee, Santa Barbara Unified School District

EdHeron, I can't speak for the entire California Constitution, but I can read the words of Prop 30. As long as the cash flow is positive, the funding is there:

:: (e) (1) To ensure that public education is not harmed in the process of providing critical protection to local Public Safety Services, the Education Protection Account is hereby created in the General Fund to receive and disburse the revenues derived from the incremental increases in taxes imposed by this section, as specified in subdivision (f).

: : "(3) All moneys in the Education Protection Account are hereby continuously appropriated for the support of school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and community college districts as set forth in this paragraph. ."
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php...

Ed's right not to guarantee what will happen if Prop. 30 passes. The politicians already got their hooks into Prop 98 money despite their assurances not to. Threatening to starve education in order to fund the rest of the bloated state government has become a familiar scene in Sacramento.

Botany, you are looking down the wrong end of this funding telescope: PUBLIC EDUCATION IS ALREADY BEING STARVED, and you speak of threats "to starve education". You also make the subject the "bloated state government" but the deeper problem is the pathetic public education we offer today. You sound like a Romney clone (read his 34 page white paper on education: you sound like you wrote it). The fact is, Prop 30 and Parcel taxes A and B are critical for the young students in California. Let's wrangle later about the bloated state government that you types rant about all the time. You are a landlord, as you have stated, so you simply don't want to pay more taxes on A & B, and you hate the idea of the state raising money to help children. Nice person.

DrDan, you seem to just want to throw more money at the problem and let the politicians figure out how to spend it. That's been a proven recipe for failure. What's the definition of insanity again?

You accuse me of being full of selfishness and hate. That's far from the truth. It's just we've been down this road before and it's foolish not to believe that history won't repeat itself. We need to change the way we do business in Sacramento. Indiscrimately throwing more money at the problem just encourages the same behavior by our elected leaders.

yes, but until "We DO to change the way we do business in Sacramento" VOTE FOR Prop 30, and A & B...
Botany, I did not accuse you of selfishness and hate, you simply lack the empathy needed to see these children need top education NOW, and that money is a huge part of that equation. Yes, there are other issues that matter, pension reform, teacher unions (not all bad), prison reform, and yes we do need to change the way we do business in Sacramento. Das Williams is corrupt as are most of the Republicans in that sick Assembly... Nonetheless, the screaming crisis, which you are blind to, is educating children better NOW -- VOTE YES ON PROP 30, and parcel taxes A and B!
-- oops, as a landlord you would have to pay more on A & B if passed, Botany, so automatically you are against it...
You masquerade your materialism by stating "oh, I'd be for these IF Sacramento would clean up its act" but this is an excuse.. do you see that these educated young people will be paying taxes for Social Security, Defense, etc. when they're older and actually propping up this society that you are growing old within? It is in your best overall interest to VOTE YES ON PROP 30, and A & B parcel taxes.

No Dan, I wouldn't be for it IF.......... : What I'm saying is that IF Sacramento had it's priorities straight, Prop 30, A & B wouldn't be needed. It's only because state finances have been so badly mismanaged that we need them in the first place. People blame the banks and greed for the financial crisis. And their right. However, the state of California spent money like a drunken sailor during the real estate boom as well. They STILL aren't learning their lesson with any significant belt tightening. If they said they needed the money for the general fund, pension obligations or legislative pay raises, what do you think the voting public would say? Of course, the legislature knows that the only way they'll get the public to vote for these tax increases is by starving public services like education, police and fire. They didn't get to the positions of power by not being clever.

Even with a $50billion tax hike, the CA School Board Assoc. has said, "the Governor's iniative does not provide new funding for schools".

Income taxes for individuals and small businesses will increase by up to 32% causing small businesses to have to cut jobs.

Spending on pensions, and retiree healthcare has increased while programs for higher education, welfare, courts has decreased.

The politicians and special interest groups are trying to threaten us to vote YES on Prop 30 or else they'll take it from the schools. Do NOT let them act like the mob and threaten our children. We should not be playing into this game.

More dishonest and cherry-picked propaganda to confuse from "Muggy."

Here's what the California School Board Association actually said:

:: "MAY 20 – In an unprecedented move, the Delegate Assembly, the governing body of the California School Boards Association (CSBA), voted today to endorse both of the revenue initiatives that will appear on the November ballot to help fund public schools and other needed statewide services. The Delegate Assembly, CSBA’s primary policy-making body and the foundation of the organization’s governance structure, consists of nearly 300 locally-elected board members from 21 regions across the state.

:: “With the release of the May Revision, it’s clear that school-age children stand to lose significantly without new revenue. The school funding crisis is at historic proportions,” explained Jill Wynns, president of CSBA. “Public schools have sustained more than $20 billion dollars in revenue reductions and deferrals since 2008."

[snip]

:: "Yet, he and the CSBA leadership want to make it clear to the public that the governor’s initiative does not provide new funding for schools. Instead, it bolsters the General Fund with new revenue. “Under the governor’s plan, schools would get back some of the billions of dollars that were redirected away from them and used to shore up the state’s funding gap in the last budgetary cycle. The governor’s initiative only restores some of the funds already owed to schools,” Billy said."

The entire press release:
http://www.csba.org/NewsAndMedia/News...

IF..then Prop 30 wouldn't be needed, BUT THESE FUNDS ARE NEEDED, Botany, and there's no dialogue with you because you are simply a broken record with your mantra of hating the way Sacramento does business. I hate the way these children are being deprived of their right to a quality public education: you do not care, just wanna rant with your self-serving mantra.

Just to clarify. It has come to my attention that I should have made it clearer that my comments on Proposition 30 represented my feelings, reasoning and intent as an individual and not as a member of the School Board. Ed Heron

EdHeron, I believe in your clarification you mean to say that you don't represent the School Board, and you are commenting as an individual citizen and board member.

As both an individual and an individual Board member with a vote, you can't divorce yourself from yourself.

Nit-picking aside, only a deliberate knucklehead would think a single Board member's vote or opinion represented the entire School Board.

You're good.

Yes, DrDan, and you are a broken record as the only solution you have being indiscriminately throwing money at the problem and hoping it gets solved that way. No dialogue there either.