Thursday, February 17, 2011

How Can the Governor Justify Funding Colleges with School Aid Fund?

This is a reasonable question.  I have been investigating these funding issues for a long time as a concerned parent.  I remember voting for Proposal A in the mid 1990's.  I thought that K-12 education was secured with this vote.  Apparently, there is a caveat to the Proposal A that is now being capitalized upon.  Under the State's 1963 (most recent) constitution, a school aid (small letters) fund was established to provide funding for and to take care of the retirement for public schools, community colleges and universities.  Although Proposal A addressed the funding of K-12 schools alone, because the consitution includes community colleges and universities, it allows this massive and drastic change in funding.  I believe strongly and I hope you consider that this interpretation of the constitution and Proposal A does not address the intention of the voters who were supposing that their vote would support K-12 schools.