Education Funding

 

 

Was Proposition 30 a Good Deal for Education?

 
On November 6, 2012, the voters approved Proposition 30 by a vote of 55.3% to 44.7%.  The Proposition raised the state sales tax for four years and personal income taxes on individuals making over $250,000 for seven years.  Proponents of Proposition 30 argued that the measure was necessary to boost funding for schools.  The Governor’s recently released 2013-14 budget proposal raises the question, was Proposition 30 a good deal for education?  Consider that:
  • Proposition 30 is estimated to raise $6.2 billion in new revenue in 2013-14.
  • K-12 schools and community colleges will receive a fraction of this new revenue with an increase of about $2.7 billion.
  • Proposition 30 made permanent a reduction of the K-14 funding obligation by around $2.2 billion, annually, by constitutionally protecting the shift of a portion of the state sales tax to fund the Governor’s realignment program.  In fact, the Proposition language presents the tax hike as necessary to replace the drop in revenue schools experienced due to the Governor and Legislature’s choice to enact realignment.1
  • The California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) systems will receive an increase of approximately $250 million each (among other adjustments), but Proposition 30 does not guarantee funding for UC or CSU.
 

 

Proposition 30 and Higher Education

As part of recent budget cuts, the Legislature scheduled reductions to the state’s premier financial aid program for students attending private colleges.  Those cuts were expected to cost students $22 million in 2012-13 and $35 million in 2013-14.  These pending cuts to financial aid raise the question: should the state use part of the $50 billion expected to be raised by Proposition 30 to restore these Cal Grants?  Consider that:
 
  • Proposition 30 will raise $50 billion over 7 years. 
  • Restoration of the Cal Grant cuts to private school students will cost taxpayers less than $45 million over the same period.
  • The non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has suggested that these cuts may end up costing taxpayers more if students are forced to leave private schools and  to attend public schools, where state General Fund subsidizes both the Cal Grant and base funding. 
 

 

Republicans Propose College Affordability Legislation 

Assembly Republicans have proposed several measures this legislative session to protect Prop. 30 dollars for higher education -- as the voters intended -- and make college education more affordable and accessible for students.  These proposals include:
 
  • Assembly Bill 67 (Gorell) and Senate Bill 58 (Cannella) protects higher education funding from budget cuts and freezes tuition for seven years.
  • Assembly Bills 51 and 181 (Logue) would create a pilot program for certain college majors to earn Bachelor’s Degrees for $10,000 at CSU schools and $20,000 at UC schools, including the cost of textbooks.
  • Assembly Bill 138 (Olsen) guarantees in-state freshman CSU students a fixed tuition rate for four years. Assembly Bill 159 (Chávez) would give incoming CSU and UC students a fixed tuition rate for six years.
  • Assembly Bill 1085 (Gaines and Morrell) would restore full Cal Grant awards for thousands of private school students whose Cal Grants are scheduled to be reduced starting in the 2013-14 school year.

  • Assembly Bill 13 (Chávez) would allow newly-retired veterans to pay in-state tuition at all CSU, UC and California community colleges.
1 Proposition 30, SEC. 4: Subparagraph (1) of Paragraph (e) of Section 36 of Article XIII of the California Constitution.  Sec. 36. (e)(1)