The Impact of Proposition 30 on Education in California

(Image source: mtsac.edu)

As we all know, the election Tuesday was a historical one for our nation with outcomes that affect us on national, state and local levels. In our State of California, Proposition 30 was passed. What does this mean and how does it impact education?

Proposition 30 enables the use of temporary taxes to fund education:

• Increases personal income tax by 1-3% on annual earnings over $250,000 for seven years.
• Increases sales and use tax by ¼ percent for four years.
• Allocates temporary tax revenues: 89% to K-12 schools and 11% to community colleges.
• Bars use of funds for administrative costs, but provides local school governing boards discretion to decide, in open meetings and subject to annual audit, how funds are to be spent.

Analysts estimate these temporary state taxes will raise approximately $6 billion annually from 2012-13 through 2016-17, with smaller amounts available 2017-18 and 2018-19. The 2012-13 state budget counted on this Proposition being passed. If it didn’t, the budget would have had to be reduced by $6 billion, with the brunt of the cut backs borne by schools.

The passing of Proposition 30 is a huge relief to millions of educators and concerned parents who are crying “mercy!”. In the last four years alone, schools in California have been hit with $20 billion in cuts, over 30,000 fewer teachers and class sizes that are among the largest in the country. The fact that the public willingly agreed to pay more taxes says a lot about how much we value education.

However, how can schools bank on the unpredictable swings in the income of upper-income taxpayers? What happens in seven years when the music stops and the temporary revenues cease to roll in? How is this addressing the underlying problem?

We, too, want to see the quality of education improved and NOW. However, while Proposition 30 may give everyone a short-term respite, it is merely a band-aid. It does not represent a long- term solution; it is not sustainable. The question remains, “where does this leave the future of our children’s education?”

We agree with President Obama; “we want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers…We believe in [an] America…open to the dreams of… the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner. To the furniture worker’s child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a president – that’s the future we hope for."

The only way to ensure the kind of future we hope for our kids is by protecting the quality of education offered to our children. We must help schools become self-sustaining so they are not at the mercy of government funding. We need to become the change we want to see.

By unlocking the power of the neighborhood, DonorNation offers the tools that will allow schools, businesses and the community to become a self-sustaining eco-system and state budget cuts will become a moot point.

 DonorNation offers the promise of a future we all hope for.