Props 15 and 16 Are Good for Kids

By Susan Nissman

By voting yes on Propositions 15 and 16, Californians have the opportunity to improve K-12 public education, particularly for the state’s lowest-performing students. This is critically important, especially now with all the learning loss resulting from campus closures during Covid-19, which has had an outsized effect on students of color.

Study after study has shown that educational inequity impacts every aspect of our public education system. Prop 16 helps to fix this.

Even while California’s population grew more diverse, eventually becoming the most diverse state in the nation, equal opportunity to access a quality public education was cut off by Prop 209. The proposition was touted as an anti-discriminatory protection when it passed nearly a quarter century ago. In reality, it had the exact opposite effect, banning any consideration of race, ethnicity or gender in programs closing achievement gaps. As a result, students and student groups who consistently fall below grade level do not receive the support they need.

It’s a particularly perverse result of Prop 209 that we are able to see data on student performance -- year after year we are still failing Black and Latinx kids -- but we aren’t able to meaningfully respond.   

“The state’s hands have really been tied around our back in terms of being able to target some of the lowest-performing student groups,” said Dr. Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Director of Ed Trust West, on a recent This Week in California Education podcast. “Having Prop 16 is going to be a really important tool to be able to target funds to the students who need it most, which now, without Prop 16, we’re really unable to do.”

Of course, the state budget determines to a large extent what districts and individual schools have the resources to do. That’s where Prop 15 comes into play, which goes hand in hand with Prop 16.

As a result of Covid, California is facing one of the worst economic crises since the Great Depression. We have already seen significant cuts to public education and social services. Given the state’s projected $8.7 billion deficit, more cuts are likely on the way. Those discussions, in fact, have already begun in Sacramento. 

Prop 15, the Schools and Communities First Initiative, will counter some of these negative effects and help California once again become an education leader. It will do this without impacting homeowners or renters. It also maintains full Prop 13 protections for small businesses and businesses owning $3 million or less of nonresidential commercial property. What it does do is close corporate tax loopholes. 

Currently, billions of dollars in property taxes are lost because the wealthiest corporations and industries aren’t paying their fair share. Since Prop 13 passed in 1978, the residential share of property taxes has skyrocketed from 55% to 72%. Prop 15 is a balanced reform that closes these tax loopholes by requiring nonresidential commercial properties to be assessed based on their actual fair market value.

The passage of Prop 15 would bring in an estimated $8 to $12.5 billion in additional funds annually. Sixty percent of that would go to cities, counties, and special districts for community improvements. Forty percent would go to schools and community colleges, with the exact allocation determined by enrollment figures. These funds, in conjunction with the passage of Prop 16, will positively impact thousands of K-12 California students.

The California Teachers Association estimates that LAUSD will receive roughly $360 million a year if Prop 15 passes. Prop 15 brings more funding to all public schools, including independent charter schools. 

Voting yes on Prop 16 will reverse the ban on equal opportunity policies so that every Californian, regardless of race, ethnicity or gender, has access to great schools and a great education. Voting yes on Prop 15 will close the loopholes wealthy corporations and industries use to avoid paying their fair share of property taxes that help fund our public schools. Voting yes on both Props 15 and 16 is good for our kids today, and for a brighter, more equitable future for all Californians.