Prop 30 Rough Draft

The foundation of California is the education of its youth. Nearly everything we have accomplished as a society has been supported by a solid education. Therefore, if we want to continue growing as state, we need to invest in our future, invest in the children of tomorrow and not cut back on the potential of thousands of growing minds. Billions of dollars have been cut from the schooling system resulting in less teachers, bigger class sizes, less days of school, higher tuition rates and lower acceptance rates among many other losses. Just at Cabrillo alone I have felt the effects of the 95 staff jobs cut, 400 classes cut and the 88.5% increase on price per unit. It is essential that we stop this downward spiral on our educational system and it is essential that we vote yes on Proposition 30.

Proposition 30 would place a temporary increase on income and sales tax. The top 1% of our population so people making 250,000 dollars or more will be charged an additional 1-3% on tax depending on how much they make for the next 7 years. The rest of the 99% of us will be charged one fourth of a cent more on tax for the next 4 years. That is 1 cent for every 4 dollars you spend, Or 5 dollars for every 2,000 dollars you spend. 89% of the revenue would to K-12 schools and 11% would go to community colleges. It also supports, education, rehab facilities and depopulation in prison as well as public safety.

If proposition 30 does not pass, Trigger Cuts will take place on January 1^st 2013. These trigger cuts will eliminate 5.5 billion dollars going to schools, which will result in 3 less weeks of school for K-12 children. It would cut 250 Million from CSU’s, which would mean more layoffs, fewer classes and an even higher tuition. For Cabrillo students this Proposition means the difference between being able to get into the classes you need and being able to transfer to a 4-year University sooner rather than later.

Being a Cabrillo College student myself, I can directly feel the already excessive budget cuts to the school. It is almost incomprehensible to really understand the effects if even more money and teachers get cut from the school’s resources. Cabrillo has cut so many classes in the recent years that in order to go to the school that I want to go to, I’m going to have to drive to a different Community College about one hour away two times a week to fulfill a required course for my major. By cutting classes, students have to stay at Cabrillo for longer because all the classes are impacted and hard to get into. Not only are there less classes and teachers, there is an increasing amount of kids that need to get into community college classes because they are unable to afford a 4 year college. It is detrimental to students and their family’s financial situation if getting your general education requirements finished means spending more and more semesters trying to get into classes and more and more time and money waiting to get in.

 Some people have different views on this proposition. On stopprop30.com they state “California cannot afford to lose more jobs or to further damage our economic recovery. Now is not the time for tax increases which will only harm California families and small businesses.” However this statement is completely false, funding schools will lead to MORE jobs for teachers and all other administrative departments.  And since more students will get to go to school it will provide more capable citizens with improved ideas and jobs to go with them in the long run. People also complain the tax increase on the poor isn’t fair. However what really isn’t fair are parents who are struggling with money having to seek out and pay for 3 extra weeks of childcare if even more money is cut from schools. A tax increase of .25% will be nothing compared to the downfalls if proposition 30 is not passed.

We can all agree that the education system in California has been going downhill. Finally a solution is within reach. Our system needs to evolve with time, not disintegrate. Lets think and act progressively for a prosperous future for the all of us. Help save our future by voting yes on Proposition 30.