California’s per-pupil spending is among the lowest in the nation. Its pupil-teacher ratio is 30 percent higher than the national average. And facilities spending isn’t keeping pace with the rest of the nation, the Sacramento Bee reports.
So a group of educators, business leaders and philanthropists is pushing what they say is a modest and realistic solution for California’s K-12 educational system: a $50 annual tax on every parcel of property in the state.
The parcel tax, also known as Proposition 88 on the Nov. 7 ballot, would generate an estimated $450 million each year for additional public school funding. That money, supporters say, would go directly to school districts for class reduction, textbooks, school safety programs, facility grants and data systems.
The ballot measure, however, has failed to muster support from even the most likely of school boosters: parents and educators.
