Letter: Proposition 30 is good for LTUSD and LTCC
To the community,
As a community college instructor and local school board member, I would like to share my thoughts with the community about what will happen if Proposition 30 doesn’t pass.
Over the past several years funding for educating our K-12 children has already dropped dramatically. The district has been using its reserves to cover this shortfall in order to maintain essential educational programs. There have also been drastic cuts to teachers, instructional assistants, administration, and other vital support services. With the reserves dangerously low, any additional decline in revenue will involve cutting the number of school days.
Larry Green
If Proposition 30 does not pass, the district will realize $455 less per pupil. The budget adopted by the board includes cutting 12 days off the school year if this funding cut occurs. That means there will be 12 fewer days for learning to take place in school. Parents will have to find and pay for childcare for 12 additional days. Many teens will be without adult supervision for 12 additional days with the potential to cause public safety issues in South Lake Tahoe.
The community has already shown its support of our children by passing Measure G, which has funded a total transformation of the school facilities. The Lake Tahoe Unified School District schools now have state of the art programs that will help our children grow up with the skills that they need in this changing society. It does not make any sense to leave these facilities empty for twelve additional days.
In addition, vital programs such as AVID, class size reduction, music, and athletics could be cut.
Proposition 30 will also protect Lake Tahoe Community College from receiving drastic budget cuts. If Proposition 30 does not pass, then the college will be forced to turn away 135 full-time equivalent college students due to reducing its course offerings. Services such as the library and tutoring will be sharply cut. The best way to improve hiring prospects for our unemployed is to acquire job skills at the community college. Our students have already had to bear a recent doubling of college tuition and the college has already had to deal with a $300 cut in funding per student while the cost of living has steadily increased.
The cost to fund Proposition 30 is a one-quarter percent increase in sales tax and an increase in income taxes for those making over $250,000 per year. This will mean a one penny donation to the school system every time you spend $4 on non-food items. When you go to the polls or fill out your absentee ballot, you can decide whether it is worth spending this penny in order to support our school children and our community college.
Sincerely,
Larry Green, LTUSD board member and LTCC mathematics faculty member
If a person doesn’t like the hacking that is systemic at ltcc, why will they give more $s to this school? Also, ltcc had Mac 64 bit cpu computers that most likely are good enough for most applications. Seems like a waste not to keep em in a situation where they can be used by students, especially since the Mac lab has very limited hours.
PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR MORE TAXES!
1. DO NOT BE FOOLED. Read the measure carefully. Prop 30 DOES NOT guarantee more funding for schools. Brown and company are threatening to reduce funding for schools, fire, police in order to get this passed, but the reality is that any revenues generated can (and will) be used for the general state budget.
2. Take a look at your property tax bill. I already pay $300 per year ADDITIONAL TAX for previously passed LTUSD bond measures. No matter how much we pay, it is NEVER enough to satisfy! Get a grip on spending!
3. Prop 30 raises taxes on ALL Californians in these difficult times. Almost zero effort has been made to be sensible and reduce the extreme amount of government programs we have in this state. It is time to make a serious effort to get control of unfunded liabilities (like pensions), and eliminate fraud and waste.
PLEASE VOTE NO ON PROP 30.
You are soooo right Arty!
This bill is only to pay off JUST SOME of the unfunded liabilities that have been amassing from all the promises to special interests by/for legislators over several decades that have been coming due for the last decade!!!
I and we all know Larry you want to promote the schtick that is being promoted by Brown but a lie is a lie.
These taxes will only go to the general fund -NOTHING- is designated for education… read this bill please.
Don’t saddle the general public with additional sales taxes and we that own property are already paying many special educational assessments already that were promoted as saving our schools, fire services and police. This drum has been beaten too many times, don’t perpetuate this LIE any longer. Calif. schools are a mess, the drop-out rate is embarrassing and the product that comes from Calif. schools is sad. I recieve resumes all the time of H.S. grads that can not put sentences together or spell. Fix what you have and cut out the FAT AT THE TOP!! There are TOO many ‘administrators’ with over bloated salaries, expense accounts, benefits that are just sucking monies!!!!
VOTE NO on 30 Don’t be threatened by this failure of a Gov. This is bullying to the exstream and by the person put in a position to SERVE the people!!
The education types like this chap sure can spin it…
FYI – CA education system is a failure.
In my opinion – Many of todays teachers are over paid over pensioned self absorbed and arrogant.
I think the old adage ‘those who can do those who can’t teach’ is spot on in many cases.
We are NOT undertaxed. Our government has its priorities screwed up and overspends.
Where is their accountability?
This blog is a magnet for cynics, that’s why I don’t read it often.
‘Americans Betrayed’ – do you know any teachers? I do – I know many teachers at our High School and College. Sure, there are a couple who are slackers, but most work very hard and really, really care about their students. I think that a greater proportion of teachers care about doing a good job than do employees in the private sector. I’ve been in several local businesses in which the employees just don’t seem to care whether I patronize the business or not.
Have you checked the salaries that teachers get? No one is getting rich in that occupation. Regarding ‘unfunded liabilities’ – the public employer and the teacher came to an agreement that some of the teacher’s pay would be given as deferred compensation. It happens in the private sector, too. The public employer failed to set aside the money that it had promised. We got the short-term benefit in lower taxes, but it will cost more because of that failure. Blame your government, not the employee.
TheTruth,
Very few private sector employees get defined benefit pension plans, very very few. Most only get what are called “Cash or Deferred” plans like, section 408, 401(k) and money purchase plans.
Public employees, including teachers, get far more than the private sector counterparts in both pay and pension and post retirement health plans.
It is ‘one’ of the problems that is destroying this country, you ‘getting it’ is irrelevant.
It is what it is. The poor me public employee bit is bull. As far as I am concerned it has created an ‘I’m so special’ attitude among public employees. Arrogance and Ignorance all in one. In ‘large part’ i have no sympathy for their whining.
Free market – Private sector creates the value. That FYI does not include big corporations with legions of lobbyists – that is not free enterprise.
The betrayal has come from many quarters, all evil. It’s time for people to stand up for a free America, put the thugs in jail(There is plenty of room for the bankers and politicians and the government employees that defraud the system).
Americans Betrayed,
Oscar Wilde described your attitude: “What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
Teachers don’t get “far more than the private sector” when you control for education and experience. That argument has been debunked, over and over. Perhaps they make more than the average casino employee, but that’s a flawed comparison.
Recall that a couple of years ago it was the fashion to refer to teaching as the most important of all occupations. The one that all other occupations depend upon. Politicians of all stripes lamented that our teachers should be respected and better paid. Now it’s the fashion to demagogue teachers.
A good teacher costs money, as does a good plumber or a good doctor. Do you know any teachers, or are you flogging a caricature?
TheTruth, you are writing to a troll. He has been PubWorksTv, etc. etc. Generally he only lasts a couple weeks before being banned. There is absolutely no reason to try to reason with him. I think he and Dick Fox may actually be the same people.
You can’t bully me John. You’re not the only one that has college degrees that posts their opinions on here. You pronounce your economic theories and worldviews as if they were absolutes and make disparaging remarks about anyone that may not agree. Spin on it.
TheTruth,
You need a reality check dude… first off the education system in California is ranked near the bottom in the USA. The USA is ranked in the middle of the top 40 nations in the world and the trajectory is guess what … DOWN.
I would classify that as a LOW value, not so you?
http://www.romneytaxplan.com