Dive Summaries:
- In November, California voters approved the Proposition 30 tax hike in the interest of saving the state's public schools, but they weren't aware that the hike was part of Gov. Jerry Brown's plan for redistributing education money from suburban districts to mostly inner-city schools.
- Prop. 30 met its primary goal was to avoid $5.4 billion in additional cuts to K-12 schools and community colleges, as well as $500 million in cuts at public universities, but voters were never informed during the campaign about any changes to the way the state distributed aid or that the measure was critical for Brown's plan.
- Ultimately, Brown's redistribution plan will give an extra 35% in funding to schools with poor students and students struggling with English, with schools in districts that have a heavy concentration of disadvantage students receiving as much as 70% more.
From the article:
SACRAMENTO — A revenue redistribution scheme probably was not what Californians had in mind when they passed Gov. Jerry Brown's tax increase to salvage public schools. But as it turns out, the tax hike, Prop. 30, was essential to help pay for the governor's plan to redistribute state education money — sending more to mostly inner-city schools at the expense of suburban districts. ...
