Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) has introduced a measure designed to do something the governor's spending plan does not - move California toward the national average in per-student funding in a significant way.
Assembly Constitutional Amendment 26 would give voters the option of freezing further decreases in the state's vehicle license fee (VLF) and allocating approximately $2.5 billion of the savings to public education. That figure amounts to approximately half of the estimated $5 billion needed to bring California's per-pupil spending to the national average.
Fully 50 percent of the new funding would go to local school districts with no strings attached, allowing local teachers and school officials to use the funds where the need is greatest. The money would become part of future Proposition 98 bases.
"The speaker's proposal is not a substitute for our pending CTA initiative," says CTA President Wayne Johnson, "but it is a positive step by one of public education's strongest supporters to move school funding in the right direction."
Targeted for the November ballot, the constitutional amendment would freeze the VLF reduction at the current 35 percent level. Under current law, additional VLF reductions would take place if a strong state economy triggered them.
"We need both new ideas and new investment to improve our schools," said Villaraigosa when he announced his proposal. "We're setting our schools up for failure if we set world-class standards but provide only Third-World funding."
In the 1960s, people coming to California found a state with the best public education in the nation, he noted. It was not a coincidence that the state was among the top six states in per-pupil spending then.
Speaking in both English and Spanish, he said that "one is judged by the company one keeps" and that California shouldn't be keeping company with states ranking at the bottom in terms of per-pupil spending.
"We need to move California closer to the national average now. The national average, mediocrity, is at least a start," said Villaraigosa.
His measure would address both the need for more school funding and concerns about raising taxes to accomplish the goal. ACA 26 would not raise taxes, he underscored.
"Let the people decide what they deserve. I'm putting a constitutional amendment to the people so that we can hear exactly what they want. I think they'll say they want better public education. I think they'll say we need money to implement high standards."
Len Feldman
