By Michael Hernandez
LOS ANGELES—Voters within the Los Angeles Unified School District will vote Tuesday (June 4) on Measure EE—a $500 million parcel tax to pay for the $840 million approved contract signed between the district and the United Teachers Los Angeles union in January of this year.
UTLA is calling this “the first local school funding measure in decades and the first major step in our 20 by 20 campaign to reach $20,000 in per-pupil funding. Measure EE is a lifeline to prevent harmful cuts to our schools and move LAUSD toward a sustainable future, laying the financial groundwork to build on our contract victories and make more progress for our students.”
The printed ballot argument submitted by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and other supporters says: “Teachers and school district leaders agree that Measure EE will lower class sizes and provided needed resources for local schools, and pay salaries to retain and attract quality teachers and student support staff…Measure EE is desperately needed to get our LOCAL schools the resources they need to educate our students, an investment which will help bring many more students up to grade level in math and reading.”
A flyer in support of Measure EE by Los Angeles Unified School District states: “If approved by two-thirds of voters, Measure EE would provide local school funding to: attract and retain high-quality teachers and school employees; reduce class size; provide quality instructional programs such as science, technology, English and math, as well as school resources and materials; expand arts and music programs, enabling more student to participate; enhance vocational and career training to prepare students for good jobs; provide preschool programs to help the youngest students with a strong start in school; provide school nursing, library, and counseling services, and other health and human services for student support; provide safe, secure, clean, well-maintained, supportive and welcoming schools; provide school support services for students with disabilities, low-income students, homeless and foster youth, or otherwise disadvantaged students.”
Meanwhile, LA School Report journalist Taylor Swank reports (May 31) that: “L.A. Unified has never had a parcel tax. They aren’t commonplace, with about 9 percent of school districts — most clustered in the Bay Area — passing or renewing parcel taxes in the past five years. Parcel taxes are unique to California, often serving as a fallback for cash-strapped districts that aren’t getting enough funding from the state.
“The proposed tax, known as Measure EE, would charge residents within L.A. Unified’s boundaries 16 cents per square foot of developed property annually. Measure EE is estimated to cost most homeowners between $100 and $450 per year, while placing the largest tax burden on businesses and corporations.” (Editor’s Note: To see article: http://laschoolreport.com/tag/edlection-2019/).
Mike Antonucci, writing a commentary on the Union Report (May 22) in the LA School Report opposing Measure EE, states: “Wonderful idea. But I’m saddled with a long (?) memory, and it seems to me I’ve heard this song before, all the way back to the salad days of 2016, when Proposition 55 was on the ballot. Proposition 55 was merely an extension of the income tax increase created by Proposition 30 in 2012. It was producing more than $600 million a year for L.A. Unified, but the district’s deficit projections continued to grow anyway. Of course, Proposition 30 was supposed to be a temporary measure for a state trying to maintain stable funding while coming out of a deep recession.
“I could continue in this vein, but let’s skip the interim measures, such as the statewide class size reduction legislation of 1996, and go all the way back to 1988, with the passage of Proposition 98. Proposition 98 essentially guaranteed public education about 40 percent of the state budget. A month after the initiative passed, state Sen. Gary Hart introduced a bill that would have earmarked half the Proposition 98 money to class size reduction. His bill was defeated by heavy CTA opposition.
“If the last 31 years of funding measures haven’t reduced this perceived underfunding, and if Measure EE doesn’t do it either, fear not. The proponents of the Schools and Communities First Initiative already have you covered. The measure, which would raise commercial property taxes, is scheduled for the November 2020 ballot.”
Michael Hernandez, Co-Founder of the Citizens Journal—Ventura County’s online news service, founder of History Makers International—a community nonprofit serving youth and families in Ventura County, is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor. He has worked 24 years as a middle school teacher. Mr. Hernandez can be contacted by email at [email protected].
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