Proposition 39 aims to end overcrowding

By Chan Tran
Daily Forty-Niner

Passage of Proposition 39 would hold California taxpayers and homeowners accountable to help needed schools, while opponents contend the measure will eliminate the 121-year-old two-thirds vote provision for local bonds.

Proponents of Proposition 39 want to hold school administrators responsible for the way school bond money is spent.

If passed, Proposition 39 will ensure that administrators will spend voter-approved school bonds directly on building and repairing classrooms - and not on administration or bureaucracy.

The proposition aims to alleviate overcrowding, poor classroom conditions and class size reduction in California schools.

Opponents of Proposition 39, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said it has more affect property taxes rather than schools. The proposition permits local bond passage with 55 percent votes instead of the current two-thirds vote requirement. To that end, there would be no limit on how much property tax can eventually increase with passage of 55 percent bonds.

"We are fighting to protect a 121 taxpayer protection," said Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer association. During the 1970s, "property taxes were going up so high, people were losing their homes," he said.

"Our goal is not to eliminate property tax, but to make it predictable," Vosburgh said.

The proposition would eliminate the 121-year-old provision that requires a two-thirds vote on local bonds.

The Jarvis group said "special provisions" were added on after Proposition 39 was filed, which can be removed or changed anytime without voter approval. Among the provisions were no limits on property tax increases.

The statewide average of home value is about $170,000, which means owners would pay about $100 in additional property taxes each year for the life of the bond, generally between 20 and 30 years, according to an analysis by the Legislative Analyst.