Propping P Up Schools
LYNN JONE S
12 NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, OCT. 4, 2012 • northcoastjournal.com
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TI ON EC
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By Heidi Walters
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Two tax measures would generate billions, but which promises more for local education?
Proposition 30
is Gov. erhaps some — OK, probably Brown’s baby, and he’s already written most — of you are daunted by its measures into the 2012-2013 budget. the task of studying up on the 11 It’s backed largely by the two teachers statewide ballot propositions on unions, with most cash coming from the the November ballot. You might California Teachers Association, the bigeven be considering the easy-weasel way gest campaign donor in the state, and a out: Just vote for the prez and drop it in slew of other big unions, private corporathe box. We’re certain that some of you, tions and assorted others. It would however, know exactly how you’ll TI ON raise personal income tax rates vote, at least on the measures EC for seven years on incomes that say “will increase taxes” above $250,000, and would be — open mouth gently, place retroactive to Jan. 1. Those earntongue between lips, and blow. 201 ing $250,000-$300,000 would Maybe some of you are planning pay another 1 percent in taxes, to vote “no” on everything simply $300,000-$500,000 earners would pay to reject the idea of adding more another 2 percent, and those making over laws and amendments to what is already $500,000 would pay another 3 percent. It the world’s third longest constitution. also would raise the sales tax rate for four “Where’s our constitutional convention?!” years, from 7.25 percent to 7.5 percent. Ahem. The rest of you, you’ve got 11 Proposition 38, created and mostly props to deal with, everything from funded by Molly Munger, a civil rights ending the death penalty to labeling attorney from Pasadena, is backed by the GMOs. Robert Greene, with the California Parent Teacher Association and Los Angeles Times, says Proposia small number of individuals. It would tion 31 is the prop to watch: It raise personal income tax rates for 12 years would change the state’s budget on all incomes above $7,316, on a sliding cycle from one-year to two-year, scale starting at 0.4 percent more on the give local governments tons more low end and going up to another 2.2 percontrol over how they spend cent on incomes above $2.5 million. their money and enforce state Prop. 38 raises more money than Prop. regulations — and allow the 30, and over a longer period of time governor to make emergency — about $10 billion a year the first few budget cuts. Greene suggests years and possibly more each year after, it would “force the compared to Prop. 30’s roughly $6 billion Legislature to spend a year for five years, and a little less in the more time reviewing years it’s phased in and phased out. programs and less time Prop. 30 money would be funneled into passing bills.” Some say it’s contradica new account within the general fund, tory and dangerous. where it would be used to begin replenIt’s a biggun, and you should go bone ishing another, long-standing education up on it. system-devoted account from which the But even bigger might be Propositions state has been borrowing for years to 30 and 38 — yep, the two tax-increase fund other programs. measures. They might be the most conProp. 38 money mostly would go difusing pair of propositions on the ballot. rectly to K-12 schools and early education They each propose to do the same thing programs, with specific strings attached — raise billions for the state’s education and a round of new reporting and budgetsystem — but in radically different ways. ing requirements. None of it could be Most startlingly, what happens with these used to raise salaries or pensions, and only propositions will determine whether or 1 percent of it could be used for adminnot Gov. Jerry Brown swings his mighty ax istrative costs. In addition, through the down to lop nearly $6 billion from the end of 2016-17, 30 percent of the revenue state budget, mostly from education. would be used by the state to pay down These, actually, might be the props to debt on general obligation bonds, mainly really watch.
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