California Educator

October/November 2019

Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1175948

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T H E S C H O O L S A N D C O M M U N I T I E S F I R S T (SCF) initiative could mean another $4.5 billion annually for public education — $11 bil- lion in total for public services — if California voters approve the tax fairness proposition in 2020. But first, CTA and other supporters need to qualify it for the ballot by gathering about 1.4 million signatures, starting at the end of October. S C F, of f i ci al ly kn ow n a s th e Cali forni a S chool s and L o cal Communities Funding Act of 2020, is a vital initiative that will help California students, workers and businesses meet today's challenges while strengthening protections for homeowners and residential property. It addresses the impact of Proposi- tion 13, passed in 1978, which saw California's approach to taxing commercial and indus- trial property starve funding for schools and local communities, disadvantage small and startup businesses, and exacerbate the state's housing crisis. As the state reduced property taxes, California's national ranking Put Schools and Communities First in per-pupil spending dropped from near the top to near the bottom. Over time, homeowners' share of state property taxes has risen to more than 70 percent, while businesses continue to pay low property taxes based on their original assessment. " S C F c l o s e s a l o o p h o l e i n Proposition 13 to ensure that big corporations pay their fair share of property taxes to support pub- lic education and local community services," says CTA President E. Toby Boyd . "It raises up to $11 billion for schools and communi- ties every year and doesn't impact homeowners or renters." The initiative previously qual- ified for the 2018 ballot, but supporters opted to wait until the November 2020 general election. is meant some revisions needed to be made to the imple- mentation timeline language as well as some Voter initiative could raise $11 billion for public services By Julian Peeples 35 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 019 A "SCF CLOSES A LOOPHOLE IN PROPOSITION 13 TO ENSURE THAT BIG CORPORATIONS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE OF PROPERTY TAXES TO SUPPORT PUBLIC EDUCATION AND LOCAL COMMUNITY SERVICES." —CTA President E. Toby Boyd Find out more about the SCF initiative at schoolsandcommunitiesfirst.org and cta.org/taxfairness.

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