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T he C oast News - I nland E dition
AUG. 21, 2020
Opinion & Editorial
Views expressed in Opinion & Editorial do not reflect the views of The Coast News
Has coronavirus killed the mass transit boom?
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Budget season amid a pandemic
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or many years, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors has been criticized for not spending its reserves. When I ran for election in 2018, I stressed that we must continue to be fiscally responsible, maintaining healthy reserves in case of an emergency. COVID-19 qualifies as an emergency and has certainly been difficult on everyone, but also is a prime example of why the County needs strong fiscal reserves. The County of San Diego released their budget for fiscal year 2020-21 and, for the first time in many years, we will be dipping into our reserves to continue to provide current levels of public safety and other services. I believe that public safety is the No. 1 priority for County government, and it’s good to see the proposed budget call for over $2 bil-
around the county Jim Desmond lion to be spent on safety for our County. Also, under the proposed plan, our Health and Human Services department will see a 9% increase, much of which will go towards COVID-19 response efforts. For our unincorporated areas, the proposal calls for almost $24 million to be spent on homelessness. Along with homelessness, I believe we need to continue to address our behavioral health crisis in our County. Homelessness and mental health certainly have crossover and I’m pleased to see the budget call for a 13% increase to address these
issues. Businesses are barely hanging on through the COVID-19 response. And, while the County doesn’t have the power to open them back up, I believe we need to do everything we can to keep them from permanent employee layoffs and closures. I will continue to push to safely and responsibly reopen businesses while protecting our vulnerable populations. There are many more areas to this year’s proposed budget, which I encourage you to check out at, SanDiegoCounty.gov/openbudget. Once our budget is adopted, I will promise you that I will continue to make sure these dollars are spent as effectively as possible and keep the County’s finances in order. Jim Desmond represents District 5 on the San Diego Couny Board of Supervisors.
Getting funds to our growing schools By Marie Waldron
Schools are essential and the need to educate our children is not negotiable. The 2020-21 budget package maintained school funding based on 2019-20 attendance levels, which essentially placed a funding cap on all schools, even those experiencing high levels of growth. Prior to enactment of this year’s education trailer bill (SB 98), school districts were “held harmless” over declining year-to-year enrollment. If the district lost students, it would still be funded at last year’s level. If the school added students, it would receive more money. But under SB 98, a growing school does not generate more money. If the school has 10% or even 100% more kids, it receives
funding based on the same number of students it served last year. Each student typically generates an average of $10,300 through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). A recent analysis projects LCFF costs that are more than $500 million lower than the amount budgeted in 2020-21 due to this change in attendance funding. Let me be clear — this money for schools was included in the budget, but unless the law is changed, growing schools will not receive it. These restrictions fall on charter schools as well as traditional schools in areas experiencing rapid growth, such as southwest Riverside and north inland San Diego Counties in my District. Conversely, areas not experiencing much
growth, like Los Angeles and San Francisco, may see little impact. That’s why I joined many of my Assembly colleagues in a letter to Gov. Newsom asking that this funding formula be revised. In his budget-signing message, the Governor indicated that he recognized problems with this formula and that changes would be necessary. The money for schools was included in the budget. It’s imperative that we change the law to ensure funding for all our growing schools. Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron, R-Escondido, represents the 75th Assembly District in the California Legislature. which includes Escondido, San Marcos and Vista.
or most of the last 30 years, California saw a mass transit boom stretching from San Diego to Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay. Both light and heavy rail joined existing bus systems, providing new options for commuters and local residents to get around. Mass transit also took off as a planning concept. Cities that approve construction of new apartment and office buildings near rail stops often forgo requirements for developers to provide parking. Even when they do demand parking spaces, it’s usually fewer than what was previously ordered. The presumption is that new residents and workers using those structures will use mass transit and their feet, that very few will drive cars. This has aroused both excitement and fear among many Californians, who envisioned the end of the car culture that has ruled this state for most of the last 100 years. But wait. That may not happen after all. The coronavirus pandemic has hit mass transit agencies harder than any government programs besides those directly involving health. The reason is clear: fear of contagion. No one who can avoid it wants to ride a crowded bus or train in the day of the virus, even if all aboard are masked. Take a look at the latest ridership numbers for the Los Angeles area’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which runs buses and an extensive light rail system. Over the last few years, this system opened
california focus thomas d. elias several new lines that cost state, local and federal taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. A major new subway project is underway between downtown Los Angeles and the Westwood area near UCLA, now something akin to a ghost town amid its plethora of virus-killed small businesses. During June, when COVID-19 cases eased up for about two weeks before their latest onslaught, ridership for the MTA’s buses and trains was 2.01 million, down almost exactly 3 million passengers from the previous June. Even with the new lines, rail ridership was off by just over 53%, from 281,010 in June 2019 to 132,532 this year. In San Diego, the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) started considering service cuts as early as March, as the pandemic began. There was still pressure to keep things running as usual, because, as the MTS chief executive said, “Our buses and trolleys are taking our most vulnerable residents to critical services, and first responders, grocery store employees, nurses and other healthcare workers to their jobs when we need them the most.” Meanwhile, ridership is down so much on the San Francisco area’s Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) that it expects to lose $975 million on operations over the next three
years due to ridership drops that at times have reached 92%. And CalTrain, the San Francisco Peninsula’s heavy rail commuter line, warned it cannot continue running almost empty unless authorities in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties subsidize it via a new sales tax or some other device. Together, all California’s transit systems are asking $36 billion in aid from the next federal coronavirus aid package. That’s almost half the estimated cost of the entire partially built bullet train system — and it would not buy one inch more rail. This is for operating expenses only. It’s all fueled by workers operating from home and a return to commuting in private cars for those who have them, with trust for the sanitation of rideshare services like Uber and Lyft also low. Californians realize that using their own cars, especially if they ride only with others sheltering with them, is about as safe as staying home. Which leaves public transit to the poor, already most likely to be victimized by the virus. The question is whether this new attitude toward mass transit and other forms of sharing rides will be permanent. For sure, it will be years before full trust is restored and folks again board trains and buses without worry. Which means no one should spend new money on transit until it all shakes out and we learn whether riders will eventually return or continue to shun buses and trains. Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com.
Inland EdItIon
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