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LOS ANGELES TIMES
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2002
Editorial: Yes on Proposition
47
One-third of California
schoolchildren sit in classrooms so crowded that students
twist like pretzels to squeeze themselves into the wall-to-wall
rows of desks. The state legislative analyst says the same
number of students spend the school day in buildings where
the roofs leak or the toilets and sinks spill onto the floors.
California students learn science in classrooms with 1960s
lab equipment, and those in a class of 40 may have to take
turns at two computers because school wiring will blow if
teachers plug in one more terminal.
Parents in Los Angeles
know all too well that the problem of worn and inadequate
public school facilities is especially acute in their district.
New state and local bond money in recent years has begun healing
years of neglect and underfunding. But year-round schedules,
long bus rides and playground-eating portable classrooms are
daily reminders of the critical need for upgrades and new
construction.
Proposition 47, on the
Nov. 5 ballot, would provide $13.05 billion statewide in general
obligation bond funds to build more classrooms, make safety
repairs and upgrade schools. The lion's share of this bond,
$11.4 billion, would go to elementary, middle and high schools.
The remaining $1.65 billion would aid community colleges,
state universities and University of California schools.
Four years ago, Californians
passed Proposition 1A, authorizing a $6.7-billion school repair
and construction bond. That money has been either allocated
or spent. The job of upgrading the state's 275,000 worn and
outdated classrooms and building the estimated 46,000 new
ones needed is far from finished.
L.A. schools historically
got the short end of the stick on state bond funds because
the application requirements favored suburban districts that
could easily identify sites for new schools. A lawsuit on
behalf of minority students allowed the L.A. Unified School
District to claim more of Proposition 1A than expected, and
the process in the future should be fairer to urban districts.
Opponents of Proposition 47 say openly that they oppose Los
Angeles' ability to get a larger share of the proposed bond
under a "crowded districts" clause.
The state legislative
analyst calculates that the state's indebtedness as a percentage
of the general fund is moderate, even low, compared with many
other states. Even if Proposition 47 and every other bond
measure on the November ballot passed, the ratio of debt service
to revenue would still be no higher than it was in the mid-'90s.
Proposition 47 needs a
simple majority of votes to pass. California can afford this
school bond and California's schoolchildren need it. Vote
yes on Proposition 47.
© 2002 The Los Angeles Times
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