SCA 6 and Improving San Leandro's Public Schools

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California State Senator Joe Simitian has submitted a bill, Senate Constitutional Amendment 6, that would amend Proposition 13 to permit local school districts and community colleges to approve local property taxes with a 55 percent vote of the public, rather than the two-thirds supermajority currently required. A similar measure, Proposition 39, was adopted in 2000 which lowered the voting threshold on bonds for schools from 2/3 to 55% support.

Sen. Simitian has been working on trying to get the amendment through the Legislature and placed on a ballot for approval by the voters since 2003. It takes a 2/3 vote of the legislature to place constitutional amendments on the ballot. Not a single Republican state senator has ever supported SCA 6. Hence, it has not advanced.

This is another example of the tyranny of the minority in California crafted into the state constitution. It should come as no surprise that if only 34% of the members of either house of the Legislature possess the power to defeat expenditure or tax proposals the result is a dysfunctional government.

If SCA 6 was the law in 2006, Measure A, the parcel tax for San Leandro schools, would have passed. And our schools would have $2.3 million dollars more annually - which could keep the class size reduction program.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 16, 2009 at 5:58 PM

    I found your blog through google.
    I agree with most of what you write. In June Redwood City was unable to pass a parcel tax increase by 1,000 votes; although 62% of the voters supported.
    I have been in contact with Sen Simitian and started an on line petition in support of the bill.
    www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-california-schools.html

    As the budget situation worsen, and prop. 98 is on the chopping block, we, the people, need to show support of the bill and demand that passing it to be part of a budget deal.

    thanks, Lea Cuniberti-Duran

    ReplyDelete

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