California Proposition 2 Is A Give-Away To Wealthy School Districts.

Prop. 2 is a give-away to wealthy school districts and lawsuits are already being prepared according to recent media reports.

Besides the discriminatory Project Labor Agreement limiting construction (which will primarily benefit bureaucrats, special interests and politically connected contractors,) critics find fault with the measure because it would do little to resolve what they say are existing inequities baked into the way the state doles out school facilities funds.

Existing Inequities Baked Into The Way The State Doles Out School Facilities Funds.

How much districts get is based on how much they can raise on their own through local bond measures — so the system sends more money per student to wealthier school districts with more assessed property value and less to poorer ones. Critics say it’s especially unfair to rural districts, which tend to have less property value and more trouble passing their own bonds.

There’s another reason it’s harder for rural districts to pass bonds, said Sara Hinkley, program manager at UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities + Schools: Rural districts tend to have far less commercial property wealth to draw on for bond revenue than their urban and suburban counterparts, so it costs them more per taxpayer to fund school facilities. “It’s not that their voters don’t want to support their schools. It’s that it’s more costly,” Hinkley said.

Resource-Rich Districts Can More Easily Meet The Match

On top of that, the state’s very system for deciding how to award state bond funds has been criticized by nonprofit law firm Public Advocates for “[advantaging] resource-rich districts that can more easily meet their match and more — constructing STEM labs and performing arts centers, while economically disadvantaged districts struggle to repair HVAC systems, repair leaky roofs, and remediate black mold.”

That’s a glaring problem that could have been avoided if Sacramento took its time vetting and developing Proposition 2 according to the OC Register Editorial Board recently when they recommended a “No on Prop 2” vote.