530-993-4379
Sierra Booster
  • Home
  • Newspaper
    • Latest News
    • Letters to the Editor >
      • Submit Letter to the Editor
    • Old News Archive
    • Photo Tour
    • Events
    • About Us
    • SUBSCRIBE
  • Advertiser Directory
    • Advertiser Press Releases
    • Website Sponsors
    • Advertiser Area
  • Buy Ads - Services
  • Fishing Report
  • Contact Us
  • Admin Log In

Hidden agenda in masquerading big bond measure

2/4/2020

0 Comments

 
NO ON PROP. 13
Jon Coupal Nov 24, 2019




In a bit of irony, this March there will be a Proposition 13 on the California statewide ballot. But unlike the landmark taxpayer protection of 1978, the Prop. 13 of 2020 will put taxpayers on the hook for $27 billion.
There’s another big difference between Prop. 13 (1978) and Prop. 13 (2020). The first was the result of a massive grassroots campaign by citizen taxpayers and homeowners striking back against out-of-control property taxes while the fake Prop. 13 was put on the ballot by the California legislature.
Prop. 13 (2020) is a huge $15 billion statewide school bond chock full of hidden traps for taxpayers. First, it reflects typical credit card math by Sacramento politicians because it would borrow $15 billion from Wall Street and then make taxpayers pay it back plus 80% in total interest costs. That’s an additional $12 billion we’ll be forced to pay, bringing the entire bill to $27 billion.
While no one disputes the need for adequate school facilities, the problem is that the state’s education establishment has failed to show that it uses existing school facility bond money effectively. California voters already have approved big school bonds, including a recent 2016 $7 billion measure, only to see much of those funds squandered. (Remember the infamous Belmont High School scandal when LAUSD wasted hundreds of millions building the nation’s most expensive high school on top of a toxic waste site?)
But this measure also presents a huge threat to homeowners. While it is true that the bond itself will be repaid out of the state’s general fund, local school districts are required to provide matching funds except on very rare occasions. Those matching funds are generated by local bond measures which are repaid exclusively by property owners.

Currently, there are strict limits on how much bond debt local school districts are allowed to carry. But a hidden provision of Prop. 13 (2020) nearly doubles the limits school districts can borrow. This means huge increases in property taxes are a near certainty. Who pays property taxes? We all do, either directly in property tax bills or through higher rents and other costs. Unlike the Prop. 13 from 1978, this Prop. 13 puts all taxpayers at risk of higher taxes.
There are other hidden landmines in this bond proposal including a preference for school construction projects that employ a “project labor agreement.” This gift to the construction trade unions can easily add 25% to 30% to the cost of school construction and freeze out responsible construction companies. That additional cost is money that could be spent building and refurbishing more school projects that benefit our children.
Of course, the real problem here is that the governor and legislature have failed to make the actual education of California’s youth a priority. Instead of spending the state’s $21 billion surplus on upgrading school facilities and providing high quality education for our children, the governor and the legislature are wasting our money on pet projects like high speed rail. That surplus money could have gone into solutions for our education system without new debt.
California’s schools are consistently ranked near the lowest in the country.
Rather than throwing $27 billion into school construction projects, our state needs a long-term solution to achieve a high standard of excellence in reading, writing and math. To do that we must reform teacher tenure, make it easier for school districts to fire bad employees, ensure more taxpayer dollars go directly into the classroom, restore the exit exam and expand school choice.
The fake Prop. 13 appearing in March does nothing to improve classroom instruction or help our children succeed.
Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (hjta.org).



In a bit of irony, this March there will be a Proposition 13 on the California statewide ballot. But unlike the landmark taxpayer protection of 1978, the Prop. 13 of 2020 will put taxpayers on the hook for $27 billion.
There’s another big difference between Prop. 13 (1978) and Prop. 13 (2020). The first was the result of a massive grassroots campaign by citizen taxpayers and homeowners striking back against out-of-control property taxes while the fake Prop. 13 was put on the ballot by the California legislature.
Prop. 13 (2020) is a huge $15 billion statewide school bond chock full of hidden traps for taxpayers. First, it reflects typical credit card math by Sacramento politicians because it would borrow $15 billion from Wall Street and then make taxpayers pay it back plus 80% in total interest costs. That’s an additional $12 billion we’ll be forced to pay, bringing the entire bill to $27 billion.
While no one disputes the need for adequate school facilities, the problem is that the state’s education establishment has failed to show that it uses existing school facility bond money effectively. California voters already have approved big school bonds, including a recent 2016 $7 billion measure, only to see much of those funds squandered. (Remember the infamous Belmont High School scandal when LAUSD wasted hundreds of millions building the nation’s most expensive high school on top of a toxic waste site?)
But this measure also presents a huge threat to homeowners. While it is true that the bond itself will be repaid out of the state’s general fund, local school districts are required to provide matching funds except on very rare occasions. Those matching funds are generated by local bond measures which are repaid exclusively by property owners.
Currently, there are strict limits on how much bond debt local school districts are allowed to carry. But a hidden provision of Prop. 13 (2020) nearly doubles the limits school districts can borrow. This means huge increases in property taxes are a near certainty. Who pays property taxes? We all do, either directly in property tax bills or through higher rents and other costs. Unlike the Prop. 13 from 1978, this Prop. 13 puts all taxpayers at risk of higher taxes.
There are other hidden landmines in this bond proposal including a preference for school construction projects that employ a “project labor agreement.” This gift to the construction trade unions can easily add 25% to 30% to the cost of school construction and freeze out responsible construction companies. That additional cost is money that could be spent building and refurbishing more school projects that benefit our children.
Of course, the real problem here is that the governor and legislature have failed to make the actual education of California’s youth a priority. Instead of spending the state’s $21 billion surplus on upgrading school facilities and providing high quality education for our children, the governor and the legislature are wasting our money on pet projects like high speed rail. That surplus money could have gone into solutions for our education system without new debt.
California’s schools are consistently ranked near the lowest in the country.
Rather than throwing $27 billion into school construction projects, our state needs a long-term solution to achieve a high standard of excellence in reading, writing and math. To do that we must reform teacher tenure, make it easier for school districts to fire bad employees, ensure more taxpayer dollars go directly into the classroom, restore the exit exam and expand school choice.
The fake Prop. 13 appearing in March does nothing to improve classroom instruction or help our children succeed.
Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (hjta.org).


‹Legislative report card promotes truth to protect taxpayers

In a bit of irony, this March there will be a Proposition 13 on the California statewide ballot. But unlike the landmark taxpayer protection of 1978, the Prop. 13 of 2020 will put taxpayers on the hook for $27 billion.
There’s another big difference between Prop. 13 (1978) and Prop. 13 (2020). The first was the result of a massive grassroots campaign by citizen taxpayers and homeowners striking back against out-of-control property taxes while the fake Prop. 13 was put on the ballot by the California legislature.
Prop. 13 (2020) is a huge $15 billion statewide school bond chock full of hidden traps for taxpayers. First, it reflects typical credit card math by Sacramento politicians because it would borrow $15 billion from Wall Street and then make taxpayers pay it back plus 80% in total interest costs. That’s an additional $12 billion we’ll be forced to pay, bringing the entire bill to $27 billion.
While no one disputes the need for adequate school facilities, the problem is that the state’s education establishment has failed to show that it uses existing school facility bond money effectively. California voters already have approved big school bonds, including a recent 2016 $7 billion measure, only to see much of those funds squandered. (Remember the infamous Belmont High School scandal when LAUSD wasted hundreds of millions building the nation’s most expensive high school on top of a toxic waste site?)
But this measure also presents a huge threat to homeowners. While it is true that the bond itself will be repaid out of the state’s general fund, local school districts are required to provide matching funds except on very rare occasions. Those matching funds are generated by local bond measures which are repaid exclusively by property owners.
Currently, there are strict limits on how much bond debt local school districts are allowed to carry. But a hidden provision of Prop. 13 (2020) nearly doubles the limits school districts can borrow. This means huge increases in property taxes are a near certainty. Who pays property taxes? We all do, either directly in property tax bills or through higher rents and other costs. Unlike the Prop. 13 from 1978, this Prop. 13 puts all taxpayers at risk of higher taxes.
There are other hidden landmines in this bond proposal including a preference for school construction projects that employ a “project labor agreement.” This gift to the construction trade unions can easily add 25% to 30% to the cost of school construction and freeze out responsible construction companies. That additional cost is money that could be spent building and refurbishing more school projects that benefit our children.
Of course, the real problem here is that the governor and legislature have failed to make the actual education of California’s youth a priority. Instead of spending the state’s $21 billion surplus on upgrading school facilities and providing high quality education for our children, the governor and the legislature are wasting our money on pet projects like high speed rail. That surplus money could have gone into solutions for our education system without new debt.
California’s schools are consistently ranked near the lowest in the country.
Rather than throwing $27 billion into school construction projects, our state needs a long-term solution to achieve a high standard of excellence in reading, writing and math. To do that we must reform teacher tenure, make it easier for school districts to fire bad employees, ensure more taxpayer dollars go directly into the classroom, restore the exit exam and expand school choice.
The fake Prop. 13 appearing in March does nothing to improve classroom instruction or help our children succeed.
Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (hjta.org).


‹Legislative report card promotes truth to protect taxpayers
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    April 2014
    September 2009

    Categories

    All
    2015
    Sierra County News

    RSS Feed

    Vie
    ​w Old News

CONTACT US:

Sierra Booster Newspaper
PO Box 8
Loyalton, CA 96118
Phone: 530-993-4379
Fax: 844-272-8583
Email: jbuck@psln.com

Website Privacy Policy​
Picture
Local Weather
©Copyright Sierra Booster - Sierra County News - Editorial
Website by Chamber Nation