'The School Unions Squeal Like Pigs When The State Cuts Their Pork "

[megimoo]

CA: Governor makes a grab for state school funds (guaranteed by Prop. 98)

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose budget already makes dramatic cuts in education, is proposing to withhold billions of dollars from schools that were guaranteed by a measure approved by voters two decades ago.

School officials and education advocates railed Tuesday against Schwarzenegger's proposal, which would go into effect after 2010, arguing that it would make permanent reductions in school spending that would eliminate programs and increase the size of classes.

"The vast majority of the education community in California believe that we're underfunded already," said Nancy Waymack, a policy director for San Francisco's public schools. "So when the state defers money, that's one more year that we don't have to spend on our students. If they're never going to pay it back, then that just makes the picture even worse."

But Schwarzenegger's finance officials say the administration is simply abiding by the rules of Proposition 98, a 20-year-old initiative that sets minimum education funding obligations for the state.

"We don't think this is a gray area," said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger's finance department.

At issue is which Prop. 98 formula should be used to set base school funding, a calculation that is dependent largely on the state's revenue.

California's struggling economy has resulted in an estimated $40 billion deficit for the state government during the next 18 months. Despite months of negotiations, Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders, who plan to meet again today, so far have failed to find a compromise to bridge the gap.



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/13/MNS4159KA4.DTL

[FlaGator]

What are they whining about? As we have seen with Prop 8, California propositions aren't really anything more than suggestions to be ignored when convenient.

[PoliCon]

the difference is that prop 8 is a constitution amendment. This other prop is not.

[noonwitch]

Teachers make $10-15,000 a year more than I do, and they get the summer off. I don't have too much sympathy for them anymore.


I was at the worst high school in Detroit last spring, where they had just hired a new Vice Principal. I was early for my appointment (it was a disciplinary conference), and he was surprised. He asked me if I was always on time for things, and I told him unless I was sick or the weather was bad, yes. He asked me if I wanted to teach-I told him I wish I had the degree to teach, I'd love to make good money. He was trying to lay down tough standards for both students and teachers, and the teachers were rebelling by calling in sick.

I always wanted to be a high school literature teacher, but my guidance counselor told me there wouldn't be any jobs in that area when I finished college, so I went into social work. I have since realized that my guidance counselor was just protecting the baby boomer teaching racket from non-baby boomers.

[tacitus]

The Colorado taxpayer got shafted back in 2005 when they passed Referendum C, which screwed the tax payer from receiving a refund from excess tax revenues. Basically this referendum did the following: "Referendum C will set a new cap at the highest level of state revenue reached between now and 2011, and allow those extra tax dollars—roughly $3.7 billion—to be spent on schools, higher education, and health care." The bad part about this referendum, the state has to pony up $ xbillions every year regardless of how the economy is doing in CO, and as we all know we are in a recession and facing huge shortfalls of tax dollars.

This year the school districts came back again for more money and were refused by the taxpayers.

I am sure CA is no different, in debt up to their eyeballs with their socialist welfare programs.Cut spending for illegals to zero and they'll have billions for schools.