CSBA Applauds LAUSD’s Board of Education for Dual Endorsement of Props. 30 & 38
WEST SACRAMENTO, AUGUST 22, 2012 – The Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Board of Education, the elected policymaking body for the largest K-12 school district in California, announced today its unanimous endorsement of both Proposition 30 (Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act) and Proposition 38 (Our Children, Our Future: Local School and Early Education Investment and Bond Debt Reduction Act), through the passage of a resolution of support. Both propositions, which will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot, will direct billions of dollars to California’s cash-strapped public schools. LAUSD’s resolution mirrors the endorsement made in May by the California School Boards Association’s (CSBA) Delegate Assembly, the primary policymaking body and the foundation of CSBA’s governance structure, which consists of nearly 300 locally-elected board members from 21 regions across the state. LAUSD’s Board of Education joins some of the state’s largest school district boards of education, including San Francisco and San Diego unified school districts, in adopting resolutions of dual support. To date, about a dozen school boards of education—including Pasadena and Torrance unified school districts in Los Angeles County—have also passed similar resolutions in support of both Prop. 30 and Prop. 38.
“The unanimous passage of the resolution of dual support for Prop. 30 and Prop. 38 by LAUSD’s Board of Education is a loud message to parents and the community-at-large in Los Angeles County and beyond: it’s time to prioritize public schools. Both propositions benefit public school students, and will enable school districts to restore some of the programs and services that have been cut in recent years due to the state’s fiscal woes,” explained Vernon M. Billy, CSBA executive director.
“This resolution, by the state’s largest school district, is more than a symbolic gesture. It’s a wake-up call to all those who believe that quality public schools are essential to our democracy and to our state’s future. The resolutions of support from school boards from across California affirm the need for our state to prioritize public school funding,” he added.
“With the school year just getting underway this month, we anticipate many more school boards adopting similar resolutions through early fall,” commented CSBA President Jill Wynns. “Both propositions do what they promise – direct funds to schools. Both benefit students in the long run, and stop the fiscal hemorrhaging caused by the loss of $20 billion in revenue to public schools since 2008.”
CSBA is the only statewide educational association to endorse both Prop. 30 and Prop. 38. Moreover, its member school districts are among the only local public agencies endorsing both propositions because public schools have taken the lion’s share of funding cuts and deferrals over the past four years. California schools now rank 47th out of the 50 states in per pupil funding; 50th out of 50 in the number of students per librarian; 49th out of 50 in the number of students per counselor; 47th out of 50 in the number of students per teacher; and 46th out of 50 in the number of students per principal.
CSBA is the nonprofit education association representing the elected officials who govern school districts, county offices of education, and regional educational agencies. With a membership of nearly 1,000 educational agencies statewide, CSBA brings together school governing boards and district and county office administrators to advocate for effective policies that advance the education and well being of the state’s more than 6 million school-age children. Learn more at www.csba.org .