LAUSD Needs A New Game Plan

This election cycle it appears more effective to fabricate the notion of a same-sex marriage curriculum mandate then to actually propose a solution to improve the education system.

Los Angeles voters, however, will decide on Measure Q, which is an initiate that would allocate 7-billion dollars to the corporate conglomerate that the city’s Unified School District has become. As a passionate advocate of education reform it is troubling to feel so unsupportive of this bond. Yet, with poor leadership in LAUSD - recall the recent payroll disaster that cost taxpayers millions to resolve – it is foolish to hand over 7 billion dollars to individuals more concerned about expanding administrative staff then improving classrooms.

This is why I propose a new concept for LAUSD officials, to follow the same path as San Francisco and other educationally progressive districts and place a parcel tax on the ballot instead of a bond. A parcel tax would vastly enhance the education in LAUSD by providing quality teachers and essential classroom materials.

School bonds and parcel taxes are the two main authorized methods for districts to raise funds. School bonds, however, have strict limitations on how the funds can be allocated. In general, bonds are required to fund school facilities (i.e. improvements on old schools and the construction of new buildings), whereas money for school supplies, curriculum, teacher salaries, and other operating expenses can only be raised through a parcel tax.

Since 2000, voters have approved $19.3 billion for school transformations in LAUSD, resulting in 67 schools constructed with another 12 still under construction. Although LAUSD has passed four bonds since 1997, the district has yet to put a parcel tax on the ballot and make any attempt to raise money for inside the classroom.

One year after declaring 2008 “The Year of Education,” Governor Schwarzenegger also announced $4.8 billion in cuts to education funding statewide. As Sacramento continues failed attempts to balance the budget, necessary components of classrooms, such as textbooks and supplies, are often the first to be affected by educational cuts. A parcel tax, however, gives the funding power back to the community.

Southern California is falling dangerously behind Northern California when it comes to educational funding. Of the 133 parcel taxes that have been approved in California 120 of them have been in Northern California school districts.

This past June, San Francisco voters approved Proposition A, an extensive parcel tax raises roughly 29 million to recruit teachers, raise salaries and update classroom technology.

Clearly Los Angeles has a different political landscape then San Francisco though. Many Los Angeles officials wont consider a parcel tax because the two-thirds majority makes it difficulty to approve. In addition to placing a parcel tax on the ballot, changes should be made with the two-thirds requirement to make it easier for school districts to raise funds.

In 2000 Proposition 39 Amended the California Constitution to lower the school bond approval to a 55 percent majority. Pressure should be put on legislatures to support a similar bill for school parcel taxes that would lower the vote threshold from the current two-thirds requirement.

State Senator Joe Simitian of Palo Alto has introduced several similar bills, SCA 17 being the most recent, yet it failed to pass out of committee. Through lobbying efforts on behalf of LAUSD and other large school districts as well as support from teacher organizations, a parcel tax amendment could pass through the State legislature.

LAUSD needs to shift the focus from outside the classroom to inside the classroom. The district no longer faces the overcrowding concerns as it did in 2001. In fact, enrollment has gone down roughly 100,000 students in the past six years and is projected to continue to decline until 2015.

With the combination of a poor economic climate, unpopular leadership in LA Unified, and the large price tag, this is ultimately the wrong bond at the wrong time. As a solution, the focus should switch from pushing a massive school bond on voters to addressing the real concerns of the school district.

In proposing the parcel tax the worse case scenario is voters don’t approve the measure, but I have a feeling that through a carefully crafted message, constituents will realize the benefits in supporting classrooms over buildings and giving funding control back to the community and out of the hands of irresponsible bureaucrats.