The political consultant who over saw the failed schools tax, Larry Remer, sent out this email out to supporters, saying that he expects the measure to eventually surpass 51 percent:
Were we in a world where the majority rules, we would have won and our schools would have some very badly needed funds to help cope with next year’s budget shortfall.
But, as we look at the overwhelming defeat of virtually every tax measure on the ballot, we should be proud of our efforts on behalf of Prop. J:
– the city’s Prop. D was badly defeated, despite broad support from business and labor;
– statewide, voters rejected a fee hike for parks, imposed a 2/3rds restriction on fee hikes, and even defeated a rollback of tax breaks for big corporations;
We bucked all of those trends. … Most importantly, we forced the plight of public school funding to the center of public debate.
We knew when we began the Prop. J campaign that it would be a difficult battle and that, even if Prop. J passed, the problems of funding for public schools would persist. Now we know that we need to continue this struggle.
In June, the largest school district in the state (LA Unified) gave a majority vote to a similar parcel tax. Now, our district, the second largest, has done the same. Clearly this proves that there is the political will at the local level to support public education, even in the face of persistently high unemployment and other serious economic problems. It is definitely time to change the rules and permit parcel taxes to be enacted with a simple majority vote.
What do you think? Should school taxes be able to pass with 50 percent of the vote, instead of two thirds? Please post your thoughts here on the blog.
Please contact Emily Alpert directly at emily.alpert@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.550.5665 and follow her on Twitter: twitter.com/emilyschoolsyou.