California Propositions 1A thru 1F

It pains me to write this. My father, Cliff Graham, was one of the founders of the Palos Verdes School District, served on the School Board during the '60's and '70's, and I attended from kindergarten thru Rolling Hills High Class of '66. But like a lot of people, I've pretty much had it with the continual ballot measures to raise money, and here's why:


In 1984 the State Lottery was sold to the public as the panacea for school funding problems. The pitch was that the schools would get all that additional money, which could only be used for "educational purposes", meaning not for facilities. Everyone voted for it on that basis.

When it passed, the State Legislature immediately and cynically (and clearly contrary to the intent of the voters) removed the money that was then being spent on schools and replaced it with the Lottery income. Who knows where the former school funds went, but it wasn't to the schools. I'm sure this is a major reason there have been constant complaints about school facilities falling into disrepair since then -- none of that Lottery money could be used for upkeep, and the former money was spent elsewhere.


This kind of subversion of the will of the voters by their elected representatives should not happen in this country. The sleazy sleight of hand and arrogant disregard on the part of those entrusted to look out for our interests, will erode the voters' trust in the entire system. Every time there is a bond or other form of tax increase to solve some funding crisis with the schools (and it's always sold as a crisis), I can't help wondering what will actually happen to the money once it arrives in Sacramento. So you will pardon me (and apparently a majority of California voters) if I can't get too excited about voting for Propositions 1A thru 1F. I'm sure those in Sacramento will find a way to ignore any spending caps, pay caps, or other provisions put in there to make it attractive. They're going to have to regain the trust of the voters before asking them for more money.