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