Formal Paper 1- Prop 30

There’s a lot at stake this fall. The defeat of Proposition 30 will trigger about $5.5 billion in spending cuts at the state level, most of which would come from education. We need to understand that more cuts will destroy what we’ve been doing that’s been working. How can we stabilize the situation and have the ability to not go through every year with layoff notices, larger classes, cut classes, cut number of school days per year and cut services.  During the last four years 38,000 teachers were let go in California. 

As a parent of a 10 year old student I have seen class sizes increase dramatically, faculty laid off, bus services cut back, classroom supplies cut, school classrooms and play grounds dangerously deteriorate and the number of school days per year decrease. 

As a college student, I have seen first-hand the effects of our state education cut backs.  The number of classes offered has largely decreased consistently over the past three years.  Every department has had to cut staff and are currently running on part time employees.  The library, tutoring staff, administration, financial aid, student affairs and list goes on.  Our class sizes have increased and our instructors and school staff are completely over worked.  Yet they stay committed and determined to continue educating.  I am amazed everyday by their dedication.

How can we expect our graduates to step out into the world, be competitive in a global economy and help ensure that our communities and country prospers? Isn't our community going to be dependent on these and other students to run our businesses, medical facilities, public safety agencies, schools and universities in the future?  Everyone in California needs to contribute and be part of the solution, instead of putting the burden on teachers and parents.  If Proposition 30 were to pass, it would increase the sales-tax rate by one-fourth of a cent for the next four years. For the next seven years, it would increase personal income-tax rates on upper-income taxpayers. Individuals with taxable income of $250,000 or more, and joint filers at double that level, would pay an additional marginal tax rate of at least 1 percent.

Education is the key to our state and countries economic success, and the key to our children's futures. Every day there are thousands of students working hard to educate themselves in our county's K-12 system, at Cabrillo College, UC Santa Cruz and throughout our state. I see that these are very challenging economic times, but we should be outraged about what is happening to our schools.  We need to support our students…these children are our future!

Annotated Bibliography- Prop 30

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY     

“Proposition 30: The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of Fact Sheet. “

University of California, 27 August 2012. Web 5 Sept. 2012.

This fact sheet gives a brief summary of the Proposition 30 pros and cons, as well as a few website references to gather further information from.  There is background outlining the history of the initiative starting in 2011 by Gov. Jerry Brown.  The proposed sales tax and income tax increases will generate revenue to support Education K-14 and public safety programs in California, if the proposition passes by 50% of Californians voting for the initiative.  The article goes on to give an estimate of the revenue to be generated over the next seven years if Proposition 30 passes and the economic impact on UC colleges over the next seven years.   The article closes with a statement from the UC Board of Regents in support of Proposition 30.

      Brown, David. “The reactionary essence of California’s Proposition 30.” World Socialist              Website, 8 Sept. 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.

               The author, David Brown starts by suggesting that Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed to increase taxes on the working class, giving the two main methods, sales tax and income tax.  He goes on to explain that Gov. Jerry Brown is, “holding California State school systems hostage.”  If Prop. 30 doesn’t pass California schools will immediately face $5 billion in cuts and with that the same budget will allow schools to decrease school days to 160 days per school year to accommodate the cuts.

               Mr. Brown points out the major cuts that have been made to the state’s General Fund by Jerry Brown since in office.  Yet he dodges the fact that California was in extreme economic trouble before Jerry Brown was elected.  He makes a valid point when describing the Democrats and Republicans as paying for the economic crisis by stealing programs from the working class and “safeguarding” the very wealthy financiers who caused the crisis.  Billions of dollars have been cut from Education, Medi-Cal, CalWORKS, other programs have been eliminated while corporate tax cuts have been “accelerated” to “stimulate growth.” I think Mr. Brown is right on target here.  The working class which pays the highest percentage of their wages to the government is being kicked down again by the government.

Buchmann, Wyatt. “Prop 30 Ads Confusing.”  San Francisco Chronicle. 3 Oct. 2012. Web 4 Oct. 2012.

                 Wyatt Buchmann wrote this article with a seemingly unbiased opinion.  He gives pro        and cons and talks about the Television advertisements launched against Prop 30.  He outlines the revenue that will be raised by the tax increases and the use of the EPA.   Then he goes into Gov. Jerry Brown’s previous tax increases and how proposition 98 will effect proposition 30 when it comes to the use of tax revenue from the General Fund, which is where most of the educational funding comes from currently.  Unfortunately, it sounds as though proposition 98 enables the legislatures to use the General Fund at their discretion when tax revenue increases in California.  And that is exactly what proposition 30 will do, increase the state tax revenue, freeing up billions of dollars for other uses.  I believe this is a huge concern that no one is talking about.  Yet the fact still remains that our schools need additional funding and Proposition 30 will help.

“CASTROL Position Statement on Proposition 30: Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act            2012.”  California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.  18 Sept. 2012.

           In this brief article, CASTROL states their position as pro Proposition 30 supporters and lists the                current state of our state public schools, the ranking nationally and the up and             coming cut                          backs if proposition 30 does not pass in November.  They also outline the sales and income taxes                that are included in the initiative and how the revenue will be spent.

R.R. #1- Gatto- "Against School"

John Taylor Gatto’s essay, “Against School”, offers a lot to reflect on.  The essay talks about the obvious ties between the Prussian and American school systems, about how our own school systems are based on an educational system deliberately designed to produce average intellects, to deny students appreciable leadership skills, and to ensure obedient, efficient, mass consumer, tax paying citizens in order to render the populace manageable. All to ensure large corporate profitability and easy government control.  They built the school system to command children to conform and scare them into thinking if they don't conform they will not be responsible and prosperous people and instead will be ostracized, poor, and stupid. Conformity did not form America, the desire for freedom and liberty did. Schooling in the United States is force fed information and propaganda, education is willingly seeking and remembering knowledge. Our current public schooling forms our curious and enthusiastic children into automatons, trained for compliance of rules and the mass production/ consumption lifestyle of our conformist society.  Control was not the founding principle of America, control was the reason people left Europe to form America. Remember our founding fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their honor to find and preserve liberty and avoid authoritarianism.  

It makes me wonder what people who reject or “fight” the system become.   What career paths should they take.  Possibly writers, inventors, politicians, marijuana growers (no taxes for them)?

Mr. Gatto asks very intriguing questions.  "Do we really need school? I don't mean education, just forced schooling: six classes a day, five days a week, nine months a year, for twelve years. Is this deadly routine really necessary? And if so, for what? Don't hide behind reading, writing, and arithmetic as a rationale, because 2 million happy home-schoolers have surely put that banal justification to rest."

I think the biggest question should be why we have not done anything to reform the school system? There should be no reason for graduates to feel as if they have wasted the last thirteen years of their life with pointless busy work. Rather than creating a “manageable populous”, we should focus on giving our kids the tools to succeed in an ever changing world. The world is more interconnected with the invention of the internet now than ever before, and because our education has not evolved with it, we are being left behind. There is a correlation between our countries mediocrities in academics compared to other countries of our stature.  I think our schools should be encouraged to evolve, our teachers to be inspired and our children encouraged to excel in what they’re passionate about.  We need fresh thinkers.