Office of the Superintendent
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BASIC AID NEWSFLASH VII (9-May-2003)

Raid on school budgets faces strong opposition
** Governor hints he may drop the proposal **
By David Boyce, Almanac Staff Writer
April 30, 2003

Gov. Gray Davis may be having second thoughts about his proposal earlier this year to divert into the state’s general fund about $126 million in property tax revenues from so-called "high wealth" school districts.

After a recent telephone conversation with the governor in a conference call that included several Silicon Valley business leaders, former Assemblyman Ted Lempert said he is “generally optimistic” that the governor will not include the proposal in the upcoming May 15 revision of the state budget.

The governor seemed to indicate an understanding of the disproportionate impact the proposal would have relative to cuts being considered for other districts, Mr. Lempert said, noting that the governor may be responding to strong and still growing opposition to the proposal from the state Legislature and constituents in targeted school districts.

In a unanimous vote on April 22, the Assembly’s budget subcommittee for education finance, chaired by Assemblyman Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, removed the governor’s proposal from the Assembly’s version of the budget. The Senate subcommittee responsible for education budget issues also delivered a unanimous vote against the proposal recently.

Of the approximately 1,000 school districts in the state, only 59 would be targeted by the proposal, including the districts serving Menlo Park, Atherton, Woodside and Portola Valley.

Local school district officials have said the governor’s proposal would cut from 17 percent to 25 percent of revenues for the 2003-2004 school year. Parents, educators and students in the targeted districts responded with a vigorous and sustained letter-writing campaign to the governor and legislators.

The governor’s proposal would affect only those school districts located in communities where the schools’ share of property tax revenues exceeds what the state normally provides in primary assistance. The proposal would not increase funding for education.

“The administration’s proposal goes too far,” said Mr. Simitian, whose Assembly district includes many school districts that would be significantly impacted if the proposal were to become law. “It’s a taking of local property tax revenues. … The state can’t reduce funding it doesn’t provide.”

On the assumption that the Legislature would reject the proposal, most local school districts have been planning single-digit reductions for next year’s budgets.

The vote against the proposal in the Assembly subcommittee was 5-0, with two members absent from the seven-member body. In the Senate, the proposal is opposed by leader Sen. John Burton, D-San Francisco; Sen. Byron Sher, D-Palo Alto; and Sen. Jackie Speier, a Democrat whose district includes Woodside and parts of Portola Valley.

Governor’s call
"The May Revise is the key," Mr. Lempert said, “but [the phone call] was a big step forward. I’m pretty hopeful that there’ll be a real significant change [in the May Revise].”

Credit for calling the governor’s attention to the issue is due in large part to the letter-writing campaign, Mr. Lempert said, but he remains concerned that the proposal is not officially dead yet. “I’m hopeful that the letters will continue,” he said.

“This will be a long-term struggle,” John Harter, the superintendent of the Woodside school district, told the Almanac. “We’re geared up for the long haul.”

Mr. Harter credited Mr. Simitian with getting the legislative campaign off the ground quickly. “He has a very sophisticated understanding of how schools are funded,” Mr. Harter said. “He just moved on it and lined up his committee, against considerable odds, I must say.”

The Basic Aid Newsflash is published by a group of concerned citizens in Bolinas to support the organizing efforts of our communities in opposition to Governor Davis’ proposed taking of local property taxes. Help us build the network: email this around to as many parents, grandparents, press, staff, community members, etc. as you can. If you received this as a forward from someone else, subscribe by email to basicaidnews@earthlink.net. Thank you!

MORE from the Superintendent’s Office on the fiscal crisis

Fiscal crisis info (9-May-2003)
BasicAid Newsflash VII
Sample Letter of Thanks to the Governor
Sample Letter of Thanks to Subcommittee members
>> Raid on School Budgets Faces Strong Opposition (article from Almanac)

WHAT TO WRITE in your letter?
- Talking Points
- Sample letter

ALL fiscal crisis info…

KEY CONTACTS IN SACRAMENTO
These are the telephone, fax and mailing addresses of key officials. Faxed or US-mailed LETTERS rather than emails are preferred.

Governor Gray Davis
c/o Michael Bustamante, Deputy Chief of Staff
State Capitol Bldg.
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633

Secretary for Education Kerry Mazzoni
Office of the Secretary for Education
1121 L Street, Suite 600
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-323-0611
Fax: 916-323-3753

Senator John Burton
State Capitol Bldg., Room 205
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-445-1412
Fax: 916-445-4722

Assemblyman Joe Nation
State Capitol, Room 3013
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-319-2006
Fax: 916-319-2106

Email addresses (note that faxed or US-mailed letters are preferred):
Governor Davis: governor@governor.ca.gov
Joe Nation: joe.nation@asm.ca.gov
Senator Burton’s website: http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/burton/