District relieved with passing of Prop. 30

Educators statewide breathed a huge sigh of relief when California voters passed Proposition 30 on Nov. 6.

The proposition was a major win for education funding in California. The school district was able to salvage more than $1 million in cuts if Prop 30 had not passed.

Of the two propositions that were targeted toward helping education, Prop. 30 and 38, only Proposition 30 passed by a simple majority vote.  

Proposition 30, supported by Gov. Jerry Brown, is focused on helping K-14 schools. The increases in sales and use tax as well as personal income tax will be put in effect on Jan. 1, and will last until 2017 and 2019, respectively.

If Prop 30 did not pass, the burden of nearly $6 billion in automatic spending cuts would have fallen almost entirely on public schools. 

The school district supported Prop. 38 because it would have provided the district additional money. However, since Prop. 30 passed, superintendent Bob Mistele said that “we aren’t getting a dime more, we just won’t get cut.”

On the other hand, the school is lucky that at least one of the propositions passed.

“We [had] outlined some cuts in the margins without cutting staff,” Mistele said. “Obviously we would [have wanted] to spend this money on our students rather than sending the money to the state.”