Makes me proud to live in California, a wholly owned subsidiary of the public employee unions.

Something needs to change.

Badly.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-23/new-california-taxes-pay-for-pensions-not-schools.html

“Why can private schools and charters operate with less or equal funds and out produce public schools?”

Many reasons, of course.

For one thing, there are many public schools right here in the Bay Area that easily perform as well as top private and charter schools.

There are some excellent charter schools, but the record is very mixed.

Private schools and charter schools get to hand pick their students and don’t have to deal with special needs kids. Public schools have the mission of universal k-12 education.

Public schools can also pay teachers somewhat less, because what teacher wouldn’t rather teach in a school with optimized learning environment and resources, even if the pay is a bit less? If we junked all the public schools and went 100% to a voucher-based private school system, that system would face all the challenges that public schools currently face.

I’m not dismissing factors such as tenure, undifferentiated pay structures, bloated departments of education, parental involvement or lack thereof. But it’s not as simple as “private good, public evil.”

Mandates and more spending will fail our children. The current system is broken and all of your grand tax schemes and government mandates will only make it worse. Funding and oversight are not the problems. Why can private schools and charters operate with less or equal funds and out produce public schools? Awake from your malaise and truthfully answer the question. The difference is choice. The Munger Plan will only feed the beast and create more layers of bureaucracy.

I agree with your 7th point that, “more communication and engagement with parents as true partners with schools in helping all children succeed”, but I fail to see how more money will achieve this. How can you preach to partner with a parent when the parents do not have the right to choose where they want thier kids to go to school.

Under Browns tax proposal or Munger’s nothing will change. We need to reform, not propagate the current system. Break the state monopoly, bust the Union, allow schools to compete, let the poor escape failing schools, stop holding our kids hostage to a broken system. Like so many other Democrat supported redistribution ideas this one will only make the poor poorer and the rich not as rich.

So, what else is new?

Our Children, Our Future is the only initiative that actually provides dollars over and above the Prop 98 minimum. This PTA/Molly Munger initiative raises income tax rates on a sliding scale: from 4/10 of 1% on the lowest earners to 2.2% on multi-millionaires. Most people earning under $50,000 won’t pay any more taxes. There is no sales tax.

For 12 years, the measure will raise $10 billion a year to invest directly in public schools and early education programs. For the first four years, 30% of the new revenue will help California pay down education-bond debt. For the remaining eight years, all the money goes to education: 85% to K-12 schools and 15% to early childhood education. This is money that does not get lumped into the general fund, but instead goes directly to school sites with local parent, teacher and community input — mandated. It also mandates strict oversight and accountability measures. Where was the money spent? What were the outcomes?

This money cannot be used to increase current teacher salaries or benefits and puts a 1% cap on administrative costs. This money can be spent to improve students’ academic performance, graduation rates, and vocational, career, college and life readiness by funding: 1. instruction in the arts, physical education, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, history, civics, financial literacy, English and foreign languages, and technical, vocational or career education; 2. smaller class sizes; 3. more counselors, librarians, school nurses and other support staff at the school site; 4. extended learning time through longer school days or longer school years, summer school, preschool, after school enrichment programs and tutoring; 5. additional social and academic support for English language learners, low income students and students with special needs; 6. alternative education models that build students’ capacity for critical thinking and creativity; and 7. more communication and engagement with parents as true partners with schools in helping all children succeed.

California State PTA was very careful about which tax initiative to support. Our Children, Our Future, won — hands down.

The party line that higher taxes will cure all is simply not true.

What about pension reform? The party of organized labor conveniently ignores the elephant in the room and will hold our kids hostage to feed union coffers and Democratic campaign funds.The people of this state are once again being blackmailed by big government and big labor.