PROP 1D

VOTE YES ON 1D: WE NEED TO INVEST IN OUR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION BECAUSE PROVIDING A QUALITY EDUCATION IS THE BEST THING WE CAN DO TO INVEST IN THEIR FUTURE

1D provides the funding to make our schools earthquake safe, reduce overcrowding, update our schools for the latest technology, build new facilities for vocational education, and build college labs that make the discoveries which fuel California’s economy.

VOTE YES ON 1D: MAKE OUR SCHOOLS EARTHQUAKE SAFE

Our children’s safety should be our top priority! The State Architect has determined that over 7,000 school buildings and many others on college campuses need structural upgrades to be earthquake safe.

VOTE YES ON 1D: REDUCE OVERCROWDING IN OUR SCHOOLS

Over a million students are trying to learn in schools with at least 75% more students than they were designed for. 1D will begin building enough schools so that our children can receive the quality education they deserve.

PROP. 1D INVESTS IN:

Visit ReadForYourself.org for a list of 1D projects.

1D IS SUPPORTED BY BOTH GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER AND BY DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR PHIL ANGELIDES. Leaders of both parties along with education and civic organizations all agree investing in our kids’ education is the most important thing we can do to invest in their future.

VOTE YES ON 1D: NEW FACILITIES FOR VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Many students need vocational training instead of college, but our schools do not have up-to-date facilities to provide it. 1D will enable schools to provide the career and technical training many students need to get jobs.

VOTE YES ON 1D: STRICT ACCOUNTABILITY PROVISIONS

Every dollar must be strictly accounted for on a project-by-project basis with independent state and local audits. Misuse of funds is a crime, punishable by imprisonment.

VOTE YES ON 1D: FOR OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE

California’s future cannot wait. The best way to grow our economy and create good paying jobs is to make sure our schools, community colleges, and universities have the facilities to train our kids. 1D provides necessary funding to build the community college and university labs and facilities they need.

Parents, teachers, and California’s leaders agree that we need 1D to provide a quality public education, to make our schoolchildren safer in the event of an earthquake, and to allow community colleges and universities to improve their facilities.

YES ON 1D: PART OF A LONG-TERM PLAN TO REBUILD CALIFORNIA

Proposition 1D is part of the Rebuild California Plan, which uses the taxes we’re already paying to build the roads, housing, schools, and water systems we need to sustain our economy and our quality of life for the long term.

THE REBUILD CALIFORNIA PLAN: YES ON 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, AND 1E

BARBARA E. KERR, President
California Teachers Association

GEORGE T. CAPLAN, President
California Community College Board of Governors

PAMELA T. JOHNSON, Chair
Coalition for Adequate School Housing

Please don’t be fooled into voting for this bond because your local school needs help. Most schools got nothing from the last statewide bond, and they will get nothing from this one! This bond requires 50% matching funds from local districts. Unless you live in a wealthy district with surplus cash to supply the matching funds, your schools will never see a penny from this bond—but you will be required to pay higher taxes for the next 30 years! Is this fair?

California is facing the most severe financial crisis in its history. Our credit rating is the worst in the nation. The Legislature has squandered the opportunity to build new schools with the astounding 23 percent growth in tax revenues over the past three years.

The results of this financial mismanagement are staggering. For decades, we will be forced to pay higher taxes just to pay back current debt. Today’s schoolchildren will still be paying for this bond long after their own children have graduated!

At a time when the Governor and the Legislature are struggling to repay the $100,388,000,000 in previously-approved debt, this $10,416,000,000 bond would dig us much deeper into a financial hole. Taxpayers will be forced to pay back more than twice the amount borrowed, due to compound interest and the cost of lawyers, Wall Street bond traders, and state bureaucrats.

Please VOTE NO on Proposition 1D. Tell Sacramento politicians to make school construction a top priority for existing tax revenues.

THOMAS N. HUDSON, Executive Director California Taxpayer Protection Committee

We Don’t Need More Education Spending Now

Proposition 1D is too big. Rather than limiting this bond measure to the essential needs of building new schools and rehabilitating older ones, this bond funds a variety of new, untested programs such as Career and Technical Education facilities, Overcrowding Relief Grants, seismic safety upgrades, energy efficiency incentives, small learning communities, and a medical education expansion with some new “telemedicine” program. We need to stick to the essentials and drop the fluff.

Proposition 1D is short-sighted. Governor Schwarzenegger’s 10-year infrastructure plan gave the state a perfect opportunity to do some long-term planning. But what happened? We get another short-term bond proposal. Proposition 1D is only designed to fund the next two years of need. Even though many school districts are facing declining enrollment today, by the end of the decade enrollment in schools all over the state will begin growing again. How are schools supposed to plan if all they get are a series of short-term fixes?

Proposition 1D is more borrowing. Why do we have to incur more debt to build and modernize schools? We can expand year-round school and better utilize our existing school facilities. Why can’t we fund school construction on a pay-as-you-go basis?

Proposition 1D is too costly. It is a $10.4 billion education bond. The interest costs will push the total cost of the bond well above $10.4 billion. Can we really afford this?

While education is important, it is not the only priority we need to worry about. We need to deal with other problems including holding down California’s debt and borrowing. And, there are more important things to spend money on than new vocational education facilities, energy efficiency, and seismic safety upgrades. It’s about time we said No to more and more education spending.

Vote NO on Proposition 1D.

WILLIAM SARACINO, Member
Editorial Board, California Political Review

VOTE YES ON 1D. HOW CAN WE AFFORD NOT TO INVEST IN OUR SCHOOLS?

Few things are more important for our children and our economy than to invest in education.

1D is the right solution to make our schools earthquake safe and build more classrooms to relieve overcrowding for our children. It will also help our state economy grow. It doesn’t bite off more than we can afford to do right now, and it allows planning for the future that is vitally important.

1D will provide real results for our kids.

Our community colleges also give a rapidly growing student population the skills they need to succeed in the workforce. We cannot afford to shortchange them— California’s future depends on their success.

That’s why 1D has gained the support from parents, teachers, seniors, business and taxpayer groups, and a bipartisan group of the Legislature.

The California Taxpayers’ Association says, “Proposition 1D is a fiscally responsible way to finance school repair and construction.”

Prop. 1D invests in:

• Construction of approximately 6,500 new K–12 classrooms and 3,000 community college classrooms
• Repair of 31,000 classrooms
• Building science, engineering labs, and classrooms
• Providing 3,000 vocational education facilities

Vote Yes on 1D. Invest in our children’s future by investing in our schools today. A bright, highly skilled student population makes California a stronger, better place to live for all of us.

BRENDA DAVIS, President
California State PTA

LARRY McCARTHY, President
California Taxpayers’ Association

WILLIAM HAUCK, President
California Business Roundtable