Borrow $10 billion to build schools, colleges
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What did voters decide?
What would it do?
Proposition 2 would provide $8.5 billion to K-12 schools and $1.5 billion to community colleges to renovate, fix and construct facilities. The money would be distributed through matching grants, with the state paying a greater share of costs for less affluent districts and those with higher numbers of English learners and foster youth. Some of the money would be set aside for removing lead from water, creating transitional kindergarten classrooms and building career and technical education facilities.
Why is it on the ballot?
Thousands of California school buildings are in poor shape, with leaky roofs, broken air conditioning, peeling paint and other health and safety hazards. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 38% of students attend schools that don’t meet the state’s minimum safety standards. Research has shown that students who attend school in sub-standard facilities tend to have lower attendance rates, lower morale and lower achievement.
Unlike many other states, California does not pay for school repairs through a permanent funding stream. Money comes entirely from state and local bonds. The state’s last school facilities bond, a $15 billion proposal in 2020, failed, leaving the state’s school repair account nearly empty.
Affluent school districts can raise more money for repairs through local bonds because local property values are higher, thereby generating more money through local property taxes. Smaller and lower-income districts struggle to raise enough bond money to pay for school repairs, and often can’t pass local bonds at all. As a result, they rely entirely on state bond money.
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For
$13.4M raised
Supporters say this money is crucial for making basic safety improvements in schools, as well as for important upgrades like modern science labs, performing arts spaces and transitional kindergarten classrooms. School districts in lower-income areas have no other way to pay for those improvements.
Supporters
- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond
- Association of California School Administrators
- California Labor Federation
- California Chamber of Commerce
- California Federation of Teachers
- California School Boards Association
- League of Women Voters of California
- Small School Districts Association
- California Republican Party
- California Democratic Party
Media Endorsements
Against
$0 raised
Opponents say the state should include school repairs in its regular budget rather than turn to taxpayers, who they say are already overburdened. In addition, they argue that Prop. 2 would not directly impact students.
Several organizations are neutral on Prop. 2 but have voiced concerns about what they see as the inequitable distribution of funds. The state’s sliding scale for matching funds should be wider, they said, with lower-income districts receiving a greater share of the funds. The nonprofit law firm Public Advocates has threatened to sue if the measure passes.
Opponents
- Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
- Business Federation Central Valley
- Reform California
- Senate GOP leader Brian Jones
Media Endorsements
Funders
Polling Data
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