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School Facilities. Local Majority Vote.
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Argument in Favor of Proposition 26
 

Arguments on this page are the opinions of the authors and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency.

LET'S INVEST IN OUR KIDS AND HELP MAKE SCHOOL BOARDS ACCOUNTABLE

Remember when you were in school? The fun, the fears, the homework. Forty of your friends packed into one classroom.

That's right. Today, California classrooms are among the most crowded in the nation, many are in desperate need of repair and most still need to be wired for the Internet and the learning technologies of the 21st century.

PROP. 26 GUARANTEES THAT TAXPAYERS WILL KNOW EXACTLY HOW THEIR MONEY WILL BE SPENT BEFORE THEY VOTE ON LOCAL SCHOOL BONDS

We all want the best education for our kids. But we also want to make sure that our education dollars are spent wisely. Prop. 26 lets us have both. It makes it easier for local communities to invest in their schools and adds tough new accountability requirements that aren't in place now.

THAT'S WHY PROP. 26 IS BACKED BY SUCH RESPECTED GROUPS AS AARP, LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS, CALIFORNIA STATE PTA, CALIFORNIA MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION, CALIFORNIA ORGANIZATION OF POLICE AND SHERIFFS, CALIFORNIA TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, CALIFORNIA BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE AND CONGRESS OF CALIFORNIA SENIORS.

Californians are tired of tax dollars being wasted. That's why Prop. 26 requires local school districts to list in advance how the money from local school bonds will be spent. If Prop. 26 passes, all voters will receive the list before you vote on your next local school bond. And Prop. 26 prohibits bond money from being used for administration and salaries. That means money for our kids, not bureaucrats.

INDEPENDENT AUDITS WILL HELP ENSURE SCHOOL FUNDS ARE SPENT PROPERLY AND NOT WASTED ON BUREAUCRACY

This initiative requires independent audits twice a year to help make sure the money has been spent properly and as the school district promised. These financial and performance audits will help guarantee the project gets done right. We need these safeguards to ensure that bond money goes to classrooms, where it belongs.

PROP. 26 WILL HELP REDUCE CLASS SIZE FOR ALL OUR KIDS

Smaller class sizes in grades kindergarten through third is one school reform that has proven to work. Kids just cannot get the attention they need in packed classrooms. Prop. 26 makes it easier for local communities to build new schools or add new classrooms so we can reduce class size. For class size reduction to help our kids achieve more, we need to build more classrooms for our kids.

PROP. 26 WILL LET A MAJORITY IN YOUR COMMUNITY DECIDE HOW MUCH TO INVEST IN LOCAL SCHOOLS

Prop. 26 does not raise taxes. It allows a majority in each community to decide for itself how much to invest in their kids--like whether or not to build new classrooms or to repair crumbling school buildings.

To help fix our schools and ensure education dollars are spent wisely, please join us in voting YES on Prop. 26--a good investment in our children, our state, and our future.

LAVONNE McBROOM
President, California PTA

Allan Zaremberg
President, California Chamber of Commerce

Wayne Johnson
President, California Teachers Association
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