What Can We Do to Stop Class and Budget Cuts in Our District?
Help to Pass Proposition 15 this November 3rd!
With the economic and budgetary crisis in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are anxious about upcoming budget and class cuts. It can be a helpless feeling waiting for the shoe to drop, but, in this case, with Proposition 15 on the ballot this November 3rd, there is something we can do about it—help to pass Proposition 15 and bring billions of dollars of new, ongoing revenue into the system.
Proposition 15 will require that commercial property valued at more than $3 million be reassessed at fair market value every three years.
- This closes a loophole that large corporations have used for decades to avoid paying their fair share of property taxes.
- The richest 10% of corporate properties will provide 92% of the revenue.
- Prop 15 specifically exempts all residential properties and agricultural land, maintaining full Prop 13 protections for homeowners, renters, and agriculture.
Thus, when opponents of Prop 15 talk about it raising property taxes on individual homeowners or crushing small businesses, they are simply lying. The truth is that huge corporate property owners that have been taking advantage of this loophole for years want to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. So corporate-funded ad campaigns are spewing falsehoods about Proposition 15 to protect the interest of companies like Chevron and the Disney Corporation.
With the potential of huge budget cuts to our schools and colleges on the horizon, the $12 billion of revenue annually will do a lot to help shore up education in California in the years to come. It would be a centerpiece of what we hope will be a just recovery from the current crisis. We don’t simply want to stop cuts, we want to ensure our schools and colleges have a consistent, stable revenue stream to help build a better future.
More specifically, Prop 15 is estimated to reclaim $700 million for our region. Public schools, community colleges, local governments, and services will all get a share of the revenue generated by making wealthy corporations pay their fair share in property taxes.
What Can You Do to Help Pass Proposition 15?
*Tell your family, students, friends, and neighbors to vote Yes on 15. As educators, people trust us on educational issues as our successful campaigns to pass Props 30 and 55 illustrated.
*Commit to letting 10 people know how essential the funding Prop 15 will bring to our schools and communities will be for a better future in California.
*Sign a commitment card to register your support for this essential measure: https://cftvotes.com/yes-on-15
*Volunteer to phone bank to help get Proposition 15 passed this November: https://www.mobilize.us/schoolsandcommunitiesfirst/event/279105/
*For more information and resources on Propositions 15: https://www.cft.org/article/faq-what-will-prop-15-do
So, don’t mourn, organize and help do what you can pass Proposition 15 this November 3rd !
In Solidarity,
Jim
Jim Mahler, President
AFT Guild, Local 1931
