For years California has struggled to escape the plight of its economic down turn. Bust budget plans and other contributing factors have lead to billions of dollars being cut from the California budget just over the past few years. This has resulted in drastic budget reductions to education and other state funded programs. As our state’s budget has been tossed and dropped throughout the hands of our politicians-California schools, primarily, fell victim. According to California Budget Bites, the gap between California’s school spending as a share of the states economy, measured by the state’s personal income, is now larger than it has been in the past 40 years. The state must take some kind of initiative to raise revenue or they will be forced to cut an additional $6 billion dollars from public education alone. Proposition 30 is Governor Jerry Brown’s proposal to increase taxes in order to generate new money for state fiscal purposes. Funding would be fulfilled by a sales tax increase rate by one quarter of a cent for every dollar for four years and a personal income tax on upper income taxpayers for seven years. If it passes, it is estimated to raise about $6 billion in additional state revenues from 2012-13 through 2016-17, with smaller amounts in 2011-12, 2017, 2017-18, and 2018-19. A full 89% of the funds provided by this proposed tax installment would go directly to K-12 education, and the remaining 11% to community colleges.
The measures biggest selling point is the potentially devastating consequences of prop 30’s failure to pass. If proposition 30 is rejected, $6 billion in “trigger cuts” will take effect. For the 2012-13 and 2013-14 fiscal year this would mean an automatic reduction of $4.8 billion for k-12 schools and $1 billion for community colleges. For k-12, the reduction is the equivalent to $930 less per student spending. Schools will be authorized schools to drop a full three weeks from the academic year. In a time of increased demand from students, community colleges are being forced to down-size their enrollment and hike tuition costs. Community colleges statewide are cutting classes. Proposition 30 may not be perfect, but it is necessary.
The measures biggest selling point is the potentially devastating consequences of prop 30’s failure to pass. If proposition 30 is rejected, $6 billion in “trigger cuts” will take effect. For the 2012-13 and 2013-14 fiscal year this would mean an automatic reduction of $4.8 billion for k-12 schools and $1 billion for community colleges. For k-12, the reduction is the equivalent to $930 less per student spending. Schools will be authorized schools to drop a full three weeks from the academic year. In a time of increased demand from students, community colleges are being forced to down-size their enrollment and hike tuition costs. Community colleges statewide are cutting classes. Proposition 30 may not be perfect, but it is necessary.
The new revenue will be used to fill a pre existing budget gap, one in which would otherwise be suffused with said trigger cuts. Some may immediately dismiss this proposal as they see the “trigger cuts” issued as a threat by the state “as they hold our students hostage”. In no way am I attempting to defend the rectitude or integrity of our states forerunners. With all partisans aside, I am simply trying to address who and what is exactly at stake. If prop 30 fails, we are risking an entire generation being severely uneducated and ill-equipped for the future. California, a former leading exemplar for national education standards, has let their priority of education fall by the wayside as state funding towards education ceases to be viciously siphoned. According to The Sacramento Bee and The Los Angeles Daily News, California is currently ranked 47th nationally in per pupil spending, just two years ago we ranked 35th-an already less than desirable rank. The consequences of our actions are already starting to unveil; in 2008, the San Jose County school district was forced to switch from a 20:1 student to teacher ratio in their k-2 classes to 30:1. San Jose grade school teacher, Andrea, shared with EducationVotes.org her firsthand experience with the new budget cuts: “This year, more than 50% of my new third graders are reading at or below a first-grade level; only three are reading at a third-grade level. Math skills are severely lacking as well; only eight of my students scored proficient or advanced on their second-grade CSTs. This lack of preparation is consistent across the grade level.” Andrea is a first hand witness attesting to the deploring results from our state’s negligence. Additionally, The Public Institute of California reports, the state faces a shortage of almost a million college educated workers by 2025. With our economy’s demand for college educated degrees rising, negligence towards education harvests draconian economic trials for our future. With such low standards of education, it makes us question whether we could adequately prepare any of our children for a future.
From an ethical standpoint, I believe there is a moral obligation to defend our public education system, particularly community colleges.The disinvestment towards higher education over the past few years impose inimical forces upon young college students across the state. Community college students suffer from impacted classes, loss of academic resources, and increased tuition. These budget cuts will undermine the quality and attainability of an education in California. Community colleges provide lower and middle income families, in particular, feasible means towards a higher level education, ultimately, providing access to more socioeconomic opportunities. The California Community Chancellors Office reports, that students receiving a degree or certificate from a community college see an 86% increase in their wages just three years after graduating. Lower and middle-income families face more struggles and less opportunities. Denying or further deploring the quality of education for these individuals will further strengthen their already firmly grounded social barriers. The circumstances and strain felt by lower income families and individuals is serious enough; the accessibility and quality of these institutions is crucial for those coming from humbler means to have equal opportunities to be able to obtain the legitimate prescribed means of society.
As a community college student myself, proposition 30 is something personal to me. If proposition 30 fails, Cabrillo alone will face an additional cut estimated to be about 3.5 million. After already cutting an estimated 400 classes, if proposition 30 fails, Cabrillo will drop every 1 in 13 pre-existing classes. This results in impacted classes, or in some cases, no classes. Students (or those who wish to be) are often waitlisted for classes, or denied, but, many of our facilities are at risk. I cherish Cabrillo’s academic resources, such as the “Math Learning Center” without it, or many other resources like it, students’ ability to succeed could be greatly diminished. Education should not be a competition, nor is it something to be compromised; an education of the equivalent should be just as much attainable for you, as the person sitting next to you. Additionally, I rely heavily upon financial aid. I work to support myself and in order to even be able to attend school I depend on its assistance. Unfortunately, many others (if not most) face the same struggle I do. Our generation was always taught that school was the only way to make a decent life for yourself and even in times of economic hardship an education was supposed to provide some sense of security, however, a good education is starting to sound like a fairy tale. I am a young adult, simply trying to make something of myself and I believe I reserve the right to do so.
As a community college student myself, proposition 30 is something personal to me. If proposition 30 fails, Cabrillo alone will face an additional cut estimated to be about 3.5 million. After already cutting an estimated 400 classes, if proposition 30 fails, Cabrillo will drop every 1 in 13 pre-existing classes. This results in impacted classes, or in some cases, no classes. Students (or those who wish to be) are often waitlisted for classes, or denied, but, many of our facilities are at risk. I cherish Cabrillo’s academic resources, such as the “Math Learning Center” without it, or many other resources like it, students’ ability to succeed could be greatly diminished. Education should not be a competition, nor is it something to be compromised; an education of the equivalent should be just as much attainable for you, as the person sitting next to you. Additionally, I rely heavily upon financial aid. I work to support myself and in order to even be able to attend school I depend on its assistance. Unfortunately, many others (if not most) face the same struggle I do. Our generation was always taught that school was the only way to make a decent life for yourself and even in times of economic hardship an education was supposed to provide some sense of security, however, a good education is starting to sound like a fairy tale. I am a young adult, simply trying to make something of myself and I believe I reserve the right to do so.
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