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| Title and Summary | Analysis | Arguments and Rebuttals | Text of Proposed Law |
PROP 88 |
EDUCATION FUNDING. REAL PROPERTY PARCEL TAX.
INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AND STATUTE.  |
| ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF PROPOSITION 88 | ARGUMENT AGAINST PROPOSITION 88 |
PROPOSITION 88: A SMART INVESTMENT FOR OUR SCHOOLS, OUR STUDENTS, AND CALIFORNIA’S FUTURE Consider: • Students in one-third of California classrooms don’t have a textbook to take home—and many don’t even have a textbook to use in class. • Teachers are paying for school materials out of their own pockets. • Too many California classrooms are still overcrowded. • Prop. 88 will help California graduate the skilled, educated workforce that is critical to a healthy business environment and our state’s economic prosperity. PROP. 88: LOCAL CONTROL OF DOLLARS FOR CLASSROOMS The education needs of communities and schools are not all the same. Prop. 88 provides needed funding directly to local schools and school districts so that they, not the Legislature, decide where to spend the funds. Prop. 88 will provide dedicated funding to: • Reduce class size so students get more individualized instruction • Provide textbooks and other learning materials, so teachers don’t have to pay for these fundamental necessities out of their own pockets • Make schools safer for students and teachers and help stop campus violence and gangs PROP. 88: A PRUDENT AND FAIR INVESTMENT Prop. 88 will put over $500 million a year directly into our local schools through a nominal (about 14¢ per day/$50 per year) property parcel assessment. Funds from Prop. 88 will be used to invest in our teachers and students, providing local schools with needed resources, like textbooks, computers, and other materials. TEACHERS SHOULDN’T HAVE TO DIP INTO THEIR OWN POCKETS TO PAY FOR CLASSROOM MATERIALS. To protect those on fixed incomes, PROP. 88 EXEMPTS SENIOR AND DISABLED HOMEOWNERS [SECTION 21.5(b)]. PROP. 88: STRICT ACCOUNTABILITY AND ANNUAL AUDITS Funds from Prop. 88 are prohibited from being used for administrative overhead and the Legislature cannot redirect the money to other programs [Section 6.2]. To ensure that funds go to classrooms and student learning, Prop. 88 requires annual independent audits [Section 6.2.(5)c] and penalties for misuse. With Prop. 88, we know exactly where the money goes and we can make sure it is spent wisely. PROP. 88: THE NEXT STEP IN IMPROVING OUR K–12 EDUCATION SYSTEM Taxpayers have invested in our school system by approving local and state bonds to build new classrooms and remodel out- of-date facilities. But bonds don’t pay for teachers, textbooks, or other learning materials and supplies. Prop. 88 puts funds in our classrooms and allows local educators to use the funds where they are most needed. PROP. 88: A VOTE FOR TEACHERS AND OUR KIDS Teachers have one of the most important jobs. Yet their jobs are made difficult because of overcrowded classrooms and a lack of basic supplies. YES on Prop. 88 will help provide teachers the resources they need to teach our children and give children the attention they need and deserve. READ PROP. 88 FOR YOURSELF. IT’S A SMALL INVESTMENT NOW THAT CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE FOR OUR FUTURE. Vote YES on 88: More Textbooks and Learning Materials, Smaller Classes, and Safer Schools! REED HASTINGS, Past President California State Board of Education JACK O’CONNELL, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction
The California Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) says “NO on Proposition 88.” Would the PTA say “No on 88” if it helped our kids’ schools? Proposition 88 is tricky and misleading. There is NOT ONE WORD in Proposition 88 about helping teachers who buy materials. And, 88 gives the impression all funds will go to classrooms. Nonsense! Proposition 88 creates layers of costly new bureaucracies and expands old bureaucracies—for a program which forever bans Proposition 88’s facilities grants to more than 95% of our kids’ schools! This whole new kind of parcel property tax would be collected from 10 million property owners by 58 county tax collectors—with new special exemptions. Then your money goes to the State Legislature, which decides who gets your tax money. (Proposition 88—Section 6.2[d]) Then 1000+ school districts collect new data from 9300+ California schools. Then Proposition 88 requires analysis from a new “integrated longitudinal teacher and student data system as defined by the Legislature.” (Section 6.2 [b] [5]) County Treasurer Paul McDonnell says: “Proposition 88 is a costly administrative nightmare, creating new layers of expensive bureaucracy.” Proposition 88 creates a whole new kind of property tax, needing only a majority vote to pass, opening the floodgates to new parcel property tax propositions. A tax with no termination date—it lasts forever. All so fewer than 5% of our kids’ schools can ask the State Legislature for a facilities grant? Our kids, our schools, and our taxpayers deserve better. Much better. Parents, Teachers, and Taxpayers agree . . . NO on 88! CLIFFORD CORIGLIANO, SR., Teacher of the Year, 2003 ART PEDROZA, Member California and American Federations of Teachers, AFL-CIO LORIE McCANN, Parent-Teachers Association Local President |
All Californians want better schools, but the promoters of Proposition 88 have taken the wrong approach. Concerned teachers and parents have joined with taxpayer groups and small business organizations to oppose Proposition 88. Here’s why: • Proposition 88 does nothing to assure that funds raised in your community are spent on your schools. Proposition 88 lets the State Legislature give your tax money to any school district in the state. • Proposition 88 creates a whole new kind of statewide property tax. Currently, all property taxes are collected locally and are used for local services, such as improving your local schools, reducing traffic congestion, improving health care, and increasing firefighting, paramedic, and law enforcement capabilities. The Prop. 88 property parcel tax goes to the State first. • Proposition 88 would impose the first statewide property tax since 1910 and would encourage other special interests to pass more and bigger property parcel taxes for their self interest causes. • Opening the door to the new property parcel tax could lead to huge new property taxes, contrary to the clear intent of Proposition 13 to limit property taxes. We could see owners of small homes or mom-and-pop stores taxed out of their homes and shops. • This new tax is never ending; we will pay it forever, whether it does anything to help schools or not! • Proposition 88 gives Sacramento politicians increased power to decide where and how to spend your money. • Proposition 88 uses a loophole to get around the two-thirds vote requirement in Proposition 13 to increase taxes. Proposition 13 requires a two-thirds voter approval to impose a local property parcel tax. Proposition 88 would impose a new statewide property parcel tax with only a simple majority vote. As a result, it is much easier to impose new statewide parcel taxes than a local parcel tax. This is another good reason to stop statewide property parcel taxes now before we are flooded with property parcel tax propositions. People concerned about our kids and schools say: “As a public school teacher, nothing is more important to me than the quality of our schools. Proposition 88 is poorly drafted, it will result in tax money raised in our community being spent by the State Legislature anywhere in the state.” —Lillian T. Perry, Middle School Teacher Teacher of the Year 2002 “We are the parents of two children in public schools and are active in our PTA. We are very concerned about the impact of Proposition 88 on our local schools and are voting NO.” —Paul and Susanna Fong El Dorado Hills “Most of the school teachers I know are voting No on Proposition 88. It’s bad for our schools and bad for our kids.” —Kate McGowan-Otto, 4th Grade Teacher Winner, Honorary Service Award, 2005 Proposition 88 doesn’t solve problems; it creates new ones. That’s why Parents and Teachers agree with Taxpayers and Small Business Owners. Vote NO on Proposition 88. For more information visit: www.noprop88.com. DR. TOM BOGETICH, Executive Director California State Board of Education (Ret.) JON COUPAL, President Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association JOEL FOX, President Small Business Action Committee
Please read Proposition 88 for yourself. It’s a modest investment to help ensure students have updated textbooks, smaller classes, and safer campuses. Two ultra conservative special interest groups are opposing this measure, just like they’ve opposed other efforts to improve public education in our state. They have never proposed a solution to fix our schools. Instead, they hide behind a smokescreen of distortions and will say anything to stop Prop. 88. But don’t just take our word for it. READ 88 FOR YOURSELF. Then please join teachers, parents, businesses, and taxpayers around the state in voting YES on 88. Prop. 88 will: • Ensure that teachers won’t have to pay for classroom learning materials out of their own pocket. • Protect students from gangs and violence on our school campuses. • Reduce class sizes so students can get the attention they deserve. • Keep the funds out of the hands of Sacramento politicians to ensure that EVERY DOLLAR goes to our local schools and that EVERY COMMUNITY BENEFITS. • Provide taxpayers and businesses an even stake in improving our schools. • Require the most strict accountability requirements and standards ever proposed to make sure the funds don’t get wasted. • Protect the most vulnerable by exempting seniors and disabled homeowners. • Ensure that homeowners are still protected from higher taxes due to increased property values. Yes on Prop. 88—It’s a small investment with big returns—smaller classes, new textbooks, and more learning materials. SHELBI WILSON, California Teacher of the Year, 2006 RUSSELL “RUSTY” HAMMER, Former Chamber of Commerce Executive STEPHANIE PRIDMORE Local PTA President |
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