Riverside County ‘s Schools and Communities 1st volunteers collected signatures that will help bring 12 billion in funding to communities, counties, and schools throughout the state.

Community allies and education advocates were on hand in Palm Springs to begin the campaign to place the Schools and Communities1st Initiative on the ballot. The initiative will:

• Restore over $12 billion a year for services that all Californians rely on like schools and local services. $4.5 billion will support K-12 education and community colleges. The remainder will be shared by counties, cities and special districts to support community services, including health clinics, trauma care and emergency rooms, parks, libraries, and public safety.
• Reform commercial property taxes, while guaranteeing existing protections for residential property and agricultural land.
• Benefit small businesses in three ways: it exempts owner-operated small businesses from reassessment until they are sold, it levels the playing field so small businesses can compete more fairly with big corporations, and it reduces their taxes by eliminating the property tax on fixtures and equipment (the business personal property tax) for all small businesses.

For more information about SCF, including short videos on the history and impact of Prop. 13 on school funding, and how to follow the rules for signature gathering and avoid disqualifying mistakes, are available on our website at www.cta.org/taxfairness.