By Javier Lopez
The smarter Californians are, the more prosperous the state will be, and proposition 55 will help us reach that goal. California needs more money for education.
If voters pass Proposition 55, the K-12 educational system and community colleges, will be funded through a tax that has already been in place since 2012, thanks to Proposition 30.
Proposition 55 will be an extension of proposition 30 which taxes the rich to fund California’s educational system.
If Proposition 55 does not pass, our state’s educational system will suffer $4 billion in cuts each year. This goes for community colleges and K-12 system.
Without Proposition 55, thousands of teachers would be laid off, arts and music programs would be cut, essential classes like math and English would be cut.
This would increase class sizes and decrease the quality of education that students are receiving.
It would also devastate community college students. Without the money they would get from Prop 55, the amount of resources available to them would be reduced, as well as the classes offered.
This could cause students to be stuck in community college for four to six years before being able to transfer to a four-year university.
Since the tax is already being implemented, not much will change for Californians, so there is no downside if it passes.
In fact, there are so many good things that can come from Proposition 55. It would help decrease the number of low income students that drop out of school.
It would also increase the number of people who pursue a higher education after graduating high school.
The proposition would also insure that more teachers are hired in school districts to address the shortage of teachers in education.
The money raised by Proposition 55 would also help fund health care services to children from low income communities.
The tax would be implemented on the wealthiest Californians, meaning that only people who make more than $250,000 a year and couples who make $500,000 or more a year will pay the tax.
This means that only people making $20,000 a month, will be affected by the propositions’ tax.
People that make that much money yearly can afford to pay more in taxes toward California’s education. It should not be that big of a problem for them.
The proposition also includes regulations that make the funds and the way the money is being spent transparent.
The public will know where the money is going. It also makes sure the money cannot be touched by state legislators.
Proposition 55 needs to be passed in order to get our educational system to move forward. Vote yes on Proposition 55.