User:Twitanigived/sandbox

Background
California's education system has ranked among the lowest performing in the nation for decades. It's currently ranked 47th in the nation in per-pupil spending, tied for having the second to worst 8th grade science scores, and 40th in High School graduation according to the most recent national data. Proposition 38 raises $10 billion a year to go directly to school sites on a per-pupil basis to overcome these challenges.

Early Care and Education programs have been cut repeatedly since 2007, resulting in 2 out of 5 eligible children being wait listed. Proposition 38 increases funds to ECE, and would result in approximately 100,000 additional children being placed in ECE programs

Proposition 38 is designed to provide a guaranteed funding source which cannot be diverted or cut by the Legislature, and can restore much of the funding which has been cut over the years.

The measure
Proposition 38 raises approximately ten billion dollars annually to restore school funding by raising rates on income tax using a sliding scale based on the ability to pay. The wealthiest Californians pay the most with incomes over a million dollars paying an average of $77,000, and incomes between $25,000 and $50,000 averaging approximately $54 a year.

For the first four years, 60% of Prop 38 funds are disbursed to K-12 schools, 30% is allocated to paying down California's school bonds, and 10% is allocated to increase funding for Early Care and Education (ECE) programs. For the remaining eight years, 85% is dedicated to K-12 and 15% to ECE.


 * Education Bonds: At least $3 billion per year for the first 4 years would be allocated to paying down California's bond debt. This money would free up general fund dollars, making it easier to balance the budget.
 * K-12 Measures
 * Prop 38 will allocate funds to schools based on the number of students at each school. The funds must be spent at the specific school site for which the funds were generated.  The Legislature is not able to divert, reduce, offset or otherwise modify the amount of money that goes to schools as a result of Proposition 38.
 * School Districts would be required to involve community members in spending plans by holding publicly accessible meetings in which community feedback is gathered. In addition to clear spending plans, districts are required to produce detailed budgets for each campus and post them on the internet. The school districts, as elected bodies, maintain the ultimate responsibility for spending Proposition 38 funds, though they cannot divert funds dedicated to one campus to another.
 * Certain restrictions are placed on how funds can be spent. No more that 1% of funds can go to Administration.  Funds cannot be used to raise salaries, though they can be used to hire more teachers, counselors, nurses and other student service related personnel.
 * ECE Measures
 * Approximately 23% of ECE funds would go toward restoring previously cut funding to, and improving existing programs. Improvements include a public rating system for ECE programs, a longitudinal database tracking Pre-Kindergarten student performance, and increase health and safety licensing inspection frequency for pre-school providers.
 * Approximately 77% of funds will go to expanding programs. Subsidized pre-school for children ages 3-5 in low income neighborhoods, a Head Start program for children under three years old, and increasing the subsidized payments to pre-school providers.

Supporters
The chief supporters of Proposition 38 include civil rights attorney Molly Munger, who helped write the initiative is a significant funder of the campaign. The California State Parent Teacher Association played a key role in authoring the proposition, and are the main institutional partner in the Yes on 38 campaign. In addition, the Yes on 38 campaign claims endorsements from 78 Individuals and 49 organizations in education, civil rights and business arenas.