Measure is expected to generate $9 billion for schools and colleges
Bradley Reynolds is a lifelong Republican, but come November, he will part ways with his political party and cast his vote for Proposition 30, an initiative that will raise taxes on the wealthy in California and implement a sales tax.
The way Reynolds, a history professor at College of the Canyons and CSU Northridge sees it, there really isn’t any other choice.
Students hurt
“My personal interest is with the colleges, and I see students being hurt by budget cuts. Courses have been cut, the size of classes has increased, and they won’t let professors add students to a class, even if they wanted to. There are a lot of students out there who can’t finish community college in two years or CSU in four years because they can’t get the classes they need. I think it’s terrible that our students can’t afford college and that they are going into debt to get an education,”
he says.
For those reasons, Reynolds will work to pass Prop. 30, the Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012, and he hopes his colleagues at community colleges around the state will join the campaign as well.
CCA and CTA were both early supporters of the initiative. Initially put forward by Gov. Jerry Brown, the proposition will temporarily increase income taxes on high-wage earners while adding a ¼ cent increase to the state sales tax. The sales tax hike expires in four years. The income tax increases expire in seven years.The measure is expected to generate about $9 billion a year. And if the initiative fails, public education faces an additional $5 billion in budget cuts next year, including $300 million from the California Community College system’s budget of $3.7 billion. In addition, money expected to come in from the dissolution of state redevelopment agencies is not likely to arrive this year.
Initiative is well-crafted
As a Republican, Reynolds would like to see less government and less taxes, but he maintains the governor’s initiative is well-crafted in a way of providing minimum taxation.
“I believe that if there is any place the government should play a role, it’s in providing education, because education is the basis of our democracy,” he said.