California voters sent a firm message to lawmakers on Tuesday, rejecting five of the six propositions on California’s special election ballot.
Proposition 1F, which limits salary increases for elected state officials, was the only measure to pass.
“We have heard from the voters, and I respect the will of the people who are frustrated with the dysfunction in our budget system,” California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
Propositions 1A-1E were shot down with each proposition getting on average only one third of the necessary of 50 percent needed to pass.
“The people were telling us: Don’t bring this problem to our doorstep,” said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg in a statement. “We are going to cut … We’re not shying away from that.”
Proposition 1F passed with 73 percent statewide and received a resounding yes from 80 percent of the voters in San Luis Obispo County. 1F prevents elected officials including the governor from receiving pay raises in years when the state ends the fiscal year in a deficit. The responsibility of determining whether the year will end in deficit or not is given to the state director of finance. The measure was placed on the ballot at the insistence of local senator Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria), who voted yes on the February state budget-balancing deal conditional on a measure such as 1F being on the special election ballot.
Proposition 1A failed, with 65.8 percent of voters statewide and 61.9 percent in San Luis Obispo County voting no. Proposition 1A would have increased the size of the state’s “rainy day” fund, which would have allocated revenue from good fiscal years into the fund, to be used for future economic downturns.
“The California State University and other vital public services avoided a severe setback for the state’s future prospects when voters rejected Proposition 1A,” the California Faculty Association said in a statement Wednesday.
Proposition 1B received no votes from 62.5 percent of voters statewide and 63.9 percent of voters in San Luis Obispo county. The proposition rested on passage of 1A, and if both passed would have given $9.3 billion to K-12 schools and community colleges through the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF). The proposition was voted down despite not having any official campaigns opposing it.
Proposition 1C failed with rejection from 64.6 percent of voters statewide and 67.4 percent of voters saying no in San Luis Obispo County. If 1C had passed it would have “modernized” the state lottery system and would have allowed the state to borrow $5 billion from future projected lottery profits through the sales of bonds, with that money going into the state’s general fund. Opponents believed that projections for the future lottery revenues were over-optimistic and that 1C could have allowed the state to borrow money to be spent on unspecified reasons.
Proposition 1D sought to enhance funding for children’s services originating from 1998’s Proposition 10, which created the California Children and Families Program (now known as the First 5 Program) for promoting, supporting and improving health and early development of children during their first 5 years of age. 1D would have provided $600 million to fund children’s programs funded by revenues from state excise taxes on cigarettes. Voters statewide voted the proposition down by 66.4 percent and 69.4 percent of voters in San Luis Obispo County followed suit.
Proposition 1E would have basically been to mental health services what 1D would have been to children’s services, and was similarly rejected by voters with 66.4 percent voting no statewide and 67.1 voting no in the county.
In addition to Schwarzenegger, the propositions were championed by both democratic and republican state House and Senate leaders, as well as several large California labor unions and the California Chamber of Commerce.
Lawmakers will meet today to discuss their remaining options for reworking the state budget, which The Los Angeles Times recently reported is in jeopardy of going bankrupt by July.
In an effort to balance the budget, lawmakers may have to resort to deep cuts in public education and state jobs, and may even have to sell off state property. California will also consider the release and deportation of 19,000 illegal immigrants currently in state prisons, the Los Angeles Times reported. Twenty three thousand inmates could be transferred from state to county facilities as well.
– Marlize van Romburgh contributed to this report.
Way to go voters. We’re going to have a generation of kids with underfunded schools–a generation of stupid kids will grow up into a generation of a stupid workforce and a generation of stupid voters. Basically, by not prioritizing education even in times of economic recession, we’re going to screw up the long-range stability of this state. A child will never get back those years in primary school, so think a little harder next time what your decision to ignore public schools’ cry for help. You’re depriving kids of an education that you were given and took for granted.
Even though you’re out of K-12 school, there’s kids and parents who were relying on your vote for Prop 1B.
the politicians not matter what are going to cut educational funding . it is and has always been considered unnecessary funding. but it’s funding that generates votes. so they throw us less fortunates a bone.
i’ve never considered my education stellar. it was with the public school system.
my child going to school now is in a school that is in its 3rd stage of federal involvement from the no child left behind act. this happened during what was supposed to be some of our best economic times.
now after the smoke and glass is taken off the stage we see the politicians for what they are. someone is always trying to pass the buck.
Javen-
Every year the federal government and state government spend more money on education than they did the previous year yet test scores ALWAYS remain unchanged.
Don’t blame taxpayers for not wanting to throw more money down the crap hole that is the CA education system (ranked 2nd to last in our nation). Its our “leaders” fault they couldnt prioritize spending appropriately.
Instead of complaining about others not willing to send more of their money to Sacramento, put your money where your mouth is and send your OWN money
Standardized test scores don’t mean anything. They show you how well you can bubble in a few multiple choice questions on one day of your life. When did you ever have to bubble in multiple choice questions in the workplace if you aren’t some quality assurance worker at a food production factory? We’re evaluating students incorrectly. Furthermore, improvement isn’t immediate. If a child is struggling in school and you throw more money at the school, you can’t expect the child to make a 180-degree turn around by the next year.
Coming from Oregon, I had a pretty good K-12 education, and I want the same for Californian students, but it’s absurd to believe that the quality of education will do anything but decrease with a reduction in funding.
Though I have not benefited from the California public K-12 education system, I’m willing to support it in taxes. A single donation won’t work. The only way to improve the system is through taxes. It’s not fair to be bitter about paying for a system that YOU benefited from when other people who haven’t benefited from the system are willing to pay. Don’t stare a gift horse in the mouth.
CA taxpayers pay $8500 per student k-12 per year.
In a class of 30 students thats over $250,000 to educate an entire class with, more than enough. But that money doesn’t go directly to the students and thats the problem. The funding goes to the generous union pensions, teacher salaries that are 25% above the national average, and gets even more cobbled up by the enormous bureaucracy that is the CA education system.
Why is it that private schools spend a fraction of what public schools spend per student and yet on average surpass public school kids by leaps and bounds?
More money is not the answer. Teachers need to be given incentives to perform not to remain incompetent and entrenched in the system when they reach tenure. The teachers union is a MAJOR problem.
the reason for the continuing static and drooping test scoring. is an increasing majority of children in a grade level that they do not belong. as well as class rooms filling with children that barely speak english. at least this is the problems my child’s school seems to be facing.
i dont believe that any child should not receive the best education possible. these cuts are going to make the already taxed system my child is a part of worse. my child is one of the few white children at this school and he is being accused of being racist for being white. now even pre-teens are using the race card.
these kids arent stupid but they are learning the wrong things