Saratoga News

Voters need to look at the hard facts

By M. Elaine Hocker

'The American educational system is broke and pouring more money into the system is not going to fix it." That statement is a quote from a former president, and a paraphrase of statements from two other presidents. Next month, on June 3, Santa Clara County voters are going to be asked to vote on four educational ballot measures (Measures A, B, C, and D) that will increase their property taxes. Emotional appeals about a "destitute educational system" or a need to support "the children" will be forthcoming from the four school districts responsible for placing these measures on the ballot. Voters in each school district need to counter these appeals with a few hard facts.

One hard fact will serve as a reminder of what happened when no limit was placed on property tax increases to support the educational system. Prior to Proposition 13, California voters willingly bought into the emotional appeals from the education system allowing continuous property tax increases to support education. Finally, in 1978, a huge wake-up call of the voters occurred when they realized that large numbers of retired people, who had worked all their lives to purchase homes, were unable to continue living in those homes due to excess taxation. The voters' realization of this fact resulted in a huge tax revolt and the creation of Proposition 13.

Measure D is the Saratoga Union Elementary School District measure that we are being asked to support with home tax increases. It is a $40 million bond issue. According to an analysis by Payne Webber, its total cost will be closer to $94 million, with only 42 cents on the dollar returned to the school district.

Bond issues are one of the creative ways the educational system has learned to get around the limits of Proposition 13. Measure D was issued for the specific purpose of upgrading Saratoga's four elementary schools. Measure D's campaign emphasis is on the assertion that these schools "have not had any repairs in the last 40 years."

As a longtime Saratoga resident who believes our schools should be kept in good repair, I contacted the elementary school board to find out why the school district had not applied for available funds from Proposition 203, the Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 1996. It is a $3 billion bond fund that can only be used for the purpose of school facility upgrade and construction projects. My question to the school board president got a reaction of a total lack of knowledge of Proposition 203, but she informed me she would "check into it."

A few days later, I received a telephone call from Measure D's campaign headquarters from a representative who informed me that the school district had applied for Proposition 203 funding but did not qualify because "the school district would have to have matching funds."

The matching fund requirement only exists in Category Four, and because the fund is small, I doubt many school districts apply for its funding. The major amount of funding available from Proposition 203 for K-12 schools is in Category One ($960 million for construction of new school buildings) and Category Two ($900 million for modernization and upgrade of existing school facilities).

The following day, after a call from the Measure D representative, I received a document in the mail from the State Allocation Board. This document reflects an apportionment of funds, in the amount of $7,521,587.60, on May 29, 1996, from Proposition 203's Category Two, to five school districts in Santa Clara County. One of the five districts was the Saratoga Union Elementary School District, which received a total amount of $190,67.60, specifically for the repair and upgrade of school facilities. Since Measure D supporters insist their facilities "have not had any repairs in 70 years," perhaps it might be advantageous for them to discover what they did with this fund allocation.

Is California's educational system underfunded? Do we have a "destitute educational system"? On May 20, 1996, U.S. News and World Report published the 1996-97 state budget forecast for each of our 50 states (which excluded each state's bond fund obligations). California's state budget ($44.2 million ) exceeded all other state budgets by a wide margin. Including state educational bond funds, California's total 1996-97 budget is $62.7 million; 39.4 percent of this budget, or $24.7 million, funds the K-12 educational system; 12.9 percent of this budget, or $8.1 million, funds the state's higher educational programs. Spending $32.8 million on this state's educational programs does not appear to classify it as "a destitute educational system."

The question for all Santa Clara County voters is: Do you wish to continue pouring your property tax money into a bankrupt system? The California educational system can be fixed, but only by destroying its outdated organizational structure and creating a modern educational system.

M. Elaine Hocker is a Saratoga resident.

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