San Juan Teachers Association President Nancy Waltz at a news conference in support of Prop. 47.
As many California students started the new school year in overcrowded and rundown classrooms, teachers joined parents and administrators in taking their case to the public. The message was that students can't learn and teachers can't teach in deteriorating facilities.
At news conferences around the state, voters were asked to support Proposition 47 on the Nov. 5 ballot. The Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2002 (Prop. 47) authorizes $13.05 billion to renovate older facilities and finance new construction in the state's public school systems, community colleges and universities.
Prop. 47 funds will also help fix leaky roofs, repair broken bathroom fixtures, install heating and air conditioning, upgrade college laboratories and research facilities, and give students access to the technology they need to meet academic standards, improve test scores and compete in the modern workforce.
San Juan Teachers Association President Nancy Waltz and Sacramento City Teachers Association President Tom Rogers hold joint news conference in support of Prop.47 and conduct a tour of run-down facilities. Similar news conferences were held around the state.
California has the second most overcrowded classrooms in the country. An estimated one in every three California school children attends a school that's either overcrowded or in need of modernization. The Office of Public School Construction says the state needs 46,000 new classrooms in the next five years to relieve overcrowding.
Prop. 47 funds would be targeted where they're most needed. Every overcrowded school district would be eligible for its fair share of the funds. The bond measure is written in a way that ensures funds cannot be spent on bureaucracy or wasteful overhead.
"Voters in many school districts have already or will soon approve local school bonds. Most of these construction and repair projects cannot be completed without Prop. 47 matching funds," explains CTA President Wayne Johnson. "It's a state/local partnership."
State construction funds that were available under Proposition 1A, which was approved by voters in 1998, have run out. Many construction or renovation projects are stalled while the localities wait for matching funds to become available.