Prop 30 Fallout Begins (Sacramento, Stockton, Los Altos: sales, unemployment, school districts)

[Youthanasia]

One of the big pushes behind Proposition 30 was that the schools would be hugely negatively impacted if it didn’t pass. College students were a specific target group, being told their classes would be cut and their fees would go up if they didn’t vote for Prop 30. However, they were not told that these things would happen anyway, even if Prop 30 was passed.

Delta College in Stockton has just announced the cutback or elimination of many areas of study and many student services next year. Now I will happily grant you that the cuts would almost certainly be more severe if Prop 30 had not passed, but it was presented to the voters in quite a different light.

Among those slated for the axe are banking, carpentry, creative writing, emergency medical services, fire technology and interior design. Athletics is being cut 10%. The library is being cut 7%. Arts, dance, drama and music are being cut 3%. Bonehead math is going away completely.

STOCKTON - After Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative passed last week, administrators at San Joaquin Delta College exhaled in relief, then immediately went back to work finding millions of dollars in cuts for next year.

Proposition 30 was not a cure-all for school districts and community colleges, if Delta is any indication.

Given all the bad news, how exactly does Prop. 30 help Delta?

It saves classified staff, managers and police officers from 12 furlough days this year. It lessens the severity of future cuts. And, in a strange confluence of events, it allows Delta to actually restore some classes for spring semester even while planning to eliminate entire programs next year.

Delta may cut dozen programs | Recordnet.com

Vote for 30 to protect education and stop the cuts, it's for the kids....

[Fontucky]

Is that a grades 13 and 14 college? Athletics should be cut 100%.

[cb73]

Given the economic conditions in Stockton, are you sure that's all about Prop. 30? I attend Foothill College, also a community college, and there will be no cut-backs of any kind there.

American River College in Sacramento has gotten tighter, because the high unemployment in the area has increased older student attendence, but they've announced they're adding SMOG check and repair classes this next term.

I think different parts of California are recovering--or not recovering--at different rates.

[user_id]

Nobody suggested that Prop 30 was a "cure all", rather the fact that education spending would have to be reduced if Prop 30 wasn't passed.

The governor asked whether we wanted more cuts in education or to pay a bit more taxes, Californians picked the taxes. Why are we still talking about it? Its done.

[ketch89]

cb, I attend Foothill as well

The main reason we're not seeing any cutbacks like other community colleges is because a huge percentage of our students are international, and they pay considerably more than we do. You also have to factor in that we've received several very generous grants from local companies and investment firms in the past few years (perks of being in silicon valley). We also just got $900,000 from the national science foundation to go towards science, tech, engineering, and math programs... Life is good in Los Altos.

[VLWH]

Originally Posted by user_id

Nobody suggested that Prop 30 was a "cure all", rather the fact that education spending would have to be reduced if Prop 30 wasn't passed.

The governor asked whether we wanted more cuts in education or to pay a bit more taxes, Californians picked the taxes. Why are we still talking about it? Its done.

Because some are still amazed that there are those who believe the classroom is going to see the money.

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by Youthanasia

Delta College in Stockton has just announced the cutback or elimination of many areas of study and many student services next year. Now I will happily grant you that the cuts would almost certainly be more severe if Prop 30 had not passed, but it was presented to the voters in quite a different light.



Vote for 30 to protect education and stop the cuts, it's for the kids....

You sort of summed it up. Prop 30 passing was a good thing.

[Youthanasia]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

You sort of summed it up. Prop 30 passing was a good thing.

If you're into the money instead being used for public safety realignment and you work for a local sheriffs dept and will benefit from more jail space being opened for inmates then absolutely, yes.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by Youthanasia

If you're into the money instead being used for public safety realignment and you work for a local sheriffs dept and will benefit from more jail space being opened for inmates then absolutely, yes.

Here is how it works.

They cut some classes instead of using the money for schools and the kids don't get a good education, can't get a job, steal to survive, get caught and .... get a nice new jail cell from the money that was supposed to go to education.

CA is soooo wonderful.

[Youthanasia]

Originally Posted by expatCA

Here is how it works.

They cut some classes instead of using the money for schools and the kids don't get a good education, can't get a job, steal to survive, get caught and .... get a nice new jail cell from the money that was supposed to go to education.

CA is soooo wonderful.

Nah, this is how it really works

SCOTUS says lower population level of inmates in custody

Solution 1 - create more space (new prisons) thus alleviating the overcrowding issue, or Solution 2 - Release inmates, change penal code to make some felonies misdemeanors thus reducing recidivism and mandate that anyone paroled after the realignment program be returned to custody in local jails instead of prison cause, you can't have anymore bodies coming in.

Problem - Local sheriffs depts have been slammed by budget cuts and jail floors have been closed, thus there is nowhere to put violators or new commitments and the public doesn't want to fund incarceration efforts.

Solution to problem - Trick the public into funding your effort indirectly through a hostage initiative, threaten 'trigger cuts' to education if you don't get the money to fund realignment. Make people think that your proposition brings in new money for schools, don't lead onto the fact that no new money is actually going to schools you are merely not going to cut from it, thus you have successfully held education hostage in order to raise the money you need to fund incarceration.

the actual text states

"Increases taxes on earnings over $250,000 for seven years and sales taxes by ¼ cent for four years, to fund schools. Guarantees public safety realignment funding. Fiscal Impact: Increased state tax revenues through 2018–19, averaging about $6 billion annually over the next few years. Revenues available for funding state budget. In 2012–13, planned spending reductions, primarily to education programs, would not occur."

The "to fund schools" means they won't cut funding with planned spending reductions, aka 'trigger cuts'.

Brown is intelligent, you don't make it 50 years in politics without learning a few tricks here and there.