Coronado Eagle, Volume 48, Number 9, 3 December 1997 — Do California (And Coronado) Voters Want To Repeal Proposition 13? [ARTICLE]

Do California (And Coronado) Voters Want To Repeal Proposition 13?

Councilman Bruce William’s proposal of the repeal of this law, which is basically what the referendum he proposes does, will permit a simple majority of votes to raise taxes, instead of two thirds majority now required. He is recommending this change in hopes of getting sufficient votes for the passage of a proposed future school bond. God only knows what other tax increases he and his kind may have in mind. Should he succeed with his proposal, it will be another step in the direction politicians, their staffs, and administrators find to take away money from wage earners and retires. As you know they will find all kinds of uses for the money, namely liberal empire building programs. A good example is the existing school system in this state where approximately half of the taxes collected for the schools goes for administration and operations, and the remainder goes for teaching the kids. It would seem that if the administrators and teachers of public schools spent more time running the school system prudently and efficiently, and less time and money on their political agendas, we could have a top notch center of learning. A restructuring of their management would be the place to start. Would suggest hiring a top CEO of a large successful company in the private sector and giving him or her a free hand to correct, improve and provide for quality education, with some relief for the folks paying the bills. As I recall the high school, prior to the existing school, was built so well that the contractor hired to tear it down didn’t realize it was built like Fort Knox and lost badly on the job. The existing high school was built in the early 60’s, and it surely must have a lot of life left in it. The high school I attended was built in the late 20’s, and it is still being used for that purpose, I also remember that if something got broke, damaged, or didn’t work, it got fixed. I would surely hope that whoever is in charged of our local school funds would provide sufficient funding for the proper upkeep and maintenance of these schools, but it doesn’t appear to be the case from the looks of them and somebody should be ac-

countable. Secondly, it would seem far less costly to install the necessary cable for computers, any additional electric wiring, plumbing, and paint, than to spend millions for a new school. Big expensive capital improvements are not a substitute for quality

education. It is disturbing that the teaching community is devoting so much of their time and attention at convincing parents, through their students, that the school district will collapse if the proposed bond issue is not approved. The main function of our school sys-

tem is to mold young minds, so that they contribute to society, instead of take away from it. We are all supportive of giving our children quality education, but lets not be misled by the school lobby.

Sam Thompson