Rough Draft

Proposition 30: Taxing our way to better school system

On November 6^th, 2012 California residents will be deciding the fate of their public education system. California’s will be voting yes or no on whether or not to pass Proposition 30, which is a tax measure that will use the accrued tax revenue for public schools k-12 plus community colleges.  The lack of funding to the schools since the recession began in 2008 has been detrimental, but the amount of funding that would have to be cut if prop 30 doesn’t pass would be devastating. California’s education system has suffered immensely from the economic down turn, and prop 30 is the first step in restoring the system to its former glory.

Proposition 30 is raise in California’s sales tax a quarter of a cent for the next four years, and also includes a raise from 1-3% in personal income tax for individuals making over $250,000 or more a year in personal income for seven years. The tax measure is also retroactive pulling from the fiscal year of 2012. Although this tax does not include capital gains taxes, which are stocks, bonds, real estate, or any asset used to make money, it is still quite a lot to ask of California’s 1%.  Some citizens of California are afraid that we will drive our higher earning businesses to more tax friendly states, because California has one of the highest sales tax rates of any state.

This tax measure is projected to accrue six billion dollars annually, and fifty billion dollars in tax revenues over the next seven years. According to the proposition the money is placed into a special bank account called, “Education Protection Account”, that the legislature cannot touch. As well as special accounts the prop states, “These funds will be subject to an independent audit every year to ensure they are spent only for schools and public safety. Elected officials will be subject to prosecution and criminal penalties if they misuse the funds”(Section II (i)). These rules were set in place to assure the money is used by and whom it is intended for, and it also protects the integrity of the California voters.  This section of the proposition also denies those who are against the propositions “Shell Game”, their belief that the money will be pushed around to fill previously drained pensions. All those who use this money are legally accountable for it by penalty of law, so the misuse can and will be documented.

 If this measure does not pass at the polls in November, the state will have to cut 5.4 billion dollars this year from the budget, which would be catastrophic for the school system that receives it’s funding from the state budget. There is 51.9% allocation for the schools in the state budget, but even 51.9% isn’t a lot when a state, much like California, is 16 billion dollars in debt. Without the collective help from the people of California our school systems will face expansive cuts, and possible closures.

According to the information provided on the California Board of Education website, there are 6,263,438 students in our k-12 public education system, and over 2,400,000 students in our community college system. As well as students being affected you’d also see around 57,711 academic staff members whose jobs may be at stake. Not to mention the family members who support these students, and those whose families are supported by the education system. Those who would be affected rise in personal income taxes if prop 30 passes would be approximately 400,000 people according to the graph provided on KCET’s website.  Some might think it is unfair for those who earn the most to be “punished” for it by having to pay higher taxes on their hard earned money, but if you just look at the numbers it becomes very clear that we as a populous would be hurting far many more people by not passing prop 30 than if we didn’t.

Currently I’m a member of 2,400,000 people attending California’s Community College system, and without it I couldn’t dream of a higher education. I come from a family where college is a dream, and how you realize that dream is entirely up to you. My family would be put into a lower socio-economic bracket, which most people refer to as lower class.  All four of my sisters and I have used the California Community College system as a means to achieve a higher education. When we were in high school we all had to work around 24-30 hours a week to help support ourselves and our family, so perfect grades were nearly impossible. The community college and other public education systems are sometimes a person’s only means to be able to achieve a college degree.

As well as affecting my present this proposition also affects my future. I’m currently attending college to be a community college teacher, and the thought of finishing my degree with nowhere to teach is a disheartening thought. The more and more cuts we make to the system the less opportunities there are for those of us wanting to teach future generations.

California’s schools are facing the biggest challenges they have ever faced, and without this tax measure the outcome is bleak, but if we band together we can create a far more viable educated community than we’ve ever had. Prop 30 is for California, for our collective future, and now we have to pay a little to save a lot.