California’s schools are in severe trouble and we as voters need to do something about it before they are beyond repair. Proposition 30 is a start in getting our educational systems back into the right direction. Prop. 30 will be on this Novembers ballot, and we as tax paying voters, parents, and students need to approve the proposition in order to prevent drastic continued cuts in K-12 schools and community colleges. Proposition 30 purposes a state generated revenue gain of around 6 billion dollars from 2012-13 through 2016-17. 89% of this revenue will be allocated to K-12 schools, 11% to community colleges, and extra funds will be given to public safety services throughout the state. This means the money will be going directly to education. The proposition states that it bars the use of the funds towards 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. In addition to education this proposition will help align the state funding of public safety services, which include police, fire, development services, and parks and recreation. This means less layoffs and additional help for most communities. This revenue will be provided by a temporary 4 year sales tax increase of ¼ cent, meaning every 4 dollars you spend you will get taxed an extra penny, and by raising income taxes on an individual who earns over $250,000 a year. More specifically their income tax will increase by 1%-3% depending on the amount they earn per year. If proposition 30 does not pass there will be a $5.4 billion dollar cut from grade schools and community colleges in effect immediately. This type of budget cut for schools will have a severe effect on class size, higher tuition rates at community colleges and universities, classes available to student, layoffs within schools, and in other various ways. CSU, Monterey Bay, has already sent out a letter to students letting them know that if proposition 30 does not pass, many students will not be able to attend next quarter. With our schools budgets already at the lowest that they have been in years we as a state cannot afford to continue making these kinds of cuts. Education is a necessity in all aspect of life. It keeps us working as a nation to achieve, without a strong system in place we begin to lose our hope, that with hard work you can become what you want in life. Education provides people the opportunity for success, if we don’t put funds into the system and make it a priority we will lose out as a nation. As Anthony Carnevale states in his article The Real Education Crisis is Just Over the Cliff “The real story is that this country is disinvesting in higher education at an alarming rate—as it has been doing for decades—and we are hurtling into the future unprepared for the economy that awaits us.” If paying an extra 20 cents on every hundred dollars you spend isn’t worth keeping our school systems from falling to pieces then I’m not sure what is.
If we don’t work together as a nation, and make some sacrifices for educational purposes, ultimately the American dream will fail. Our school systems have been on a steady decline since 2007, and if prop. 30 fails there will be another round of cuts even more drastic then before. “K-12 spending per pupil remains $1,000 less then it was five years ago” and many families cannot afford to send there children to college as it is, if budget cuts continue, these numbers will only increase. As a 27 year old, I have been employed full time for the last 8 years, and I have worked for the last 11. I have lived from paycheck to paycheck my entire life and I have been making plenty over minimum wage, enough for the state to take out between 6%-8% towards income tax, that is only 1.3% less then someone who earns $249,000 a year (at the moment a person who earns $48,029 gets taxed the same as someone who earns $500,000). For a very long time I have been wanting to go back to school, but due to tuition rates, lack of funding for nursing programs, and my own mental stability of not being able to work 40 hours a week and be involved in a high intensity school program. It has taken me over 5 year to be at a point in my life where the opportunity to start back at school again has arose. My “American Dream” is to be a registered nurse, where I could make a good living, maybe pay off a bill or two, and to share my empathy for humanity with others. Due to the lack of nursing programs there are wait lists of 4-5 years and lottery type situations to get into a certified program at community colleges throughout the state. They estimate that there will be a greater demand then nurses available, partial due to the lack of programs, which is greatly due to our educational crisis. This could mean my goals will be put on hold until I get lucky enough to get accepted into a program, not because I haven’t gotten good enough grades, or earned it, but simply because there is no funding in education. There are many students and hopeful students just like me, and I guarantee I am one of the luckier ones. If proposition 30 does not pass because we cannot pay a few cents more a meal, or some of the wealthiest families in California can’t afford to pay 1% more a year then someone who earns 3 times less then them, then not only nursing programs, but all educational programs at the college level will receive budget cuts. This fact breaks my heart.
If we don’t work together as a nation, and make some sacrifices for educational purposes, ultimately the American dream will fail. Our school systems have been on a steady decline since 2007, and if prop. 30 fails there will be another round of cuts even more drastic then before. “K-12 spending per pupil remains $1,000 less then it was five years ago” and many families cannot afford to send there children to college as it is, if budget cuts continue, these numbers will only increase. As a 27 year old, I have been employed full time for the last 8 years, and I have worked for the last 11. I have lived from paycheck to paycheck my entire life and I have been making plenty over minimum wage, enough for the state to take out between 6%-8% towards income tax, that is only 1.3% less then someone who earns $249,000 a year (at the moment a person who earns $48,029 gets taxed the same as someone who earns $500,000). For a very long time I have been wanting to go back to school, but due to tuition rates, lack of funding for nursing programs, and my own mental stability of not being able to work 40 hours a week and be involved in a high intensity school program. It has taken me over 5 year to be at a point in my life where the opportunity to start back at school again has arose. My “American Dream” is to be a registered nurse, where I could make a good living, maybe pay off a bill or two, and to share my empathy for humanity with others. Due to the lack of nursing programs there are wait lists of 4-5 years and lottery type situations to get into a certified program at community colleges throughout the state. They estimate that there will be a greater demand then nurses available, partial due to the lack of programs, which is greatly due to our educational crisis. This could mean my goals will be put on hold until I get lucky enough to get accepted into a program, not because I haven’t gotten good enough grades, or earned it, but simply because there is no funding in education. There are many students and hopeful students just like me, and I guarantee I am one of the luckier ones. If proposition 30 does not pass because we cannot pay a few cents more a meal, or some of the wealthiest families in California can’t afford to pay 1% more a year then someone who earns 3 times less then them, then not only nursing programs, but all educational programs at the college level will receive budget cuts. This fact breaks my heart.
I strongly believe that proposition 30 is a positive strive in getting our educational system and state budget issues back into shape. We as citizens need to support California by voting yes on proposition 30 and to help avoid continued hardships on students, teachers, public safety workers, and our future.
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