Thursday, December 19, 2013

1st Look/Taking Initiative: THE PROTECTION OF LOCAL SCHOOL REVENUES ACT OF 2014

via email from Educate our State and from their website | http://bit.ly/IYaNGG

19 December 2013  ::  According to Educate Our State: Over $7 billion dollars a year of local property taxes have been directed away from our community schools.  These are our local tax dollars apportioned to our neighborhood schools and community colleges -- and they no longer represent a stable, reliable cash flow for local education.

Our initiative would STOP Sacramento from taking property tax revenues designated for local schools.

by email from Delaine Eastin, former California Superintendent of Public Instruction:

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Dear Scott:

We are asking for your help.  Thanks to your past support Educate Our State filed a statewide initiative to provide equal protection to local property taxes that support schools and community colleges. Property taxes designated for other services (cities, counties, libraries, parks, fire, water, mosquito control, etc.) are protected, but not schools. This is hurting our children and our schools. Will you please contribute to support our effort? 

This is a shell game that is now taking $6 billion (yes, $6,000,000,000) every year of local property taxes that are allocated to schools, and shifting them to fund other state obligations. Children should not be required to pay the debts of the state.  Schools should not be forced to give up their most stable source of funding, property taxes. There is no transparency that this is happening.  This lack of transparency is a violation of the public trust. We wish Sacramento did not make school funding so complex -- but we are trying to undo some of that complexity. Californians should be able to understand how schools are funded. 

The state Constitution says the education of children should be our first priority. That is not happening today. Help us honor our constitution and put education first again.

We are working hard to raise $3 million to help gather signatures to get the Protection of Local School Revenues Act of 2014 on the ballot next November. You can learn more on our initiative website here. We need your help in this effort to be successful.  As a volunteer-led organization, we know it is a challenge, and one we believe we can accomplish when we work together. 

This initiative will not raise taxes or fees, will bring transparency and stability to school funding, and will help us build a system that can actually get new funding to schools.

We cannot do it without your support. Your advocacy, volunteer efforts, and contributions make all the difference. We hope you will make a contribution to the Educate Our State Initiative. We promise we will use it to work to get this important initiative on the ballot in November of 2014. If you are able to volunteer, please email us here - we would love your engagement.

Please join us.  When we all work together, we will be the solution. 

With best wishes for a wonderful 2014,

Delaine Eastin                                                          
California Superintendent of Public Instruction, ret.    

Katherine Welch
Proponent, Educate Our State Initiative
www.yesforeducation.org


Your gift of any amount will help us qualify this initiative for the 2014 ballot. Paid for by Educate Our State Initiative. FPPC ID# 1361228. 150 Post Street, #405, San Francisco, CA 94108. Contributions to Educate Our State Initiative are not tax deductible. We may not accept your contribution without your name, street address, occupation and employer. Contributions may be made in any amount, and may come from individuals, business entities, labor unions, nonprofit organizations, and/or PACs. The committee may not accept contribution from foreign nationals.

The Initiative

Protection of Local School Revenues Act of 2014 by 4LAKids

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