As a coalition of interest groups announced the launch Wednesday of a ballot measure to extend income tax increases on the wealthiest Californians, speakers painted a dark picture of what would happen if voters rejected it.
“When we cut $5 billion and (school districts) start raising the class size, and cutting art and music, cutting counselors and nurses and librarians and librarian technicians and custodians, their classrooms aren’t gonna be able to kept clean and all that maintenance stuff – this is (students’) time and they lose that time forever,” says California Teachers Association President Eric Heins.
The proposed initiative, which is expected to qualify for the November election, would extend the Proposition 30 income tax increases that voters approved in 2012.
Supporters – such as unions, school groups, doctors and hospitals – say California’s schools and state budget will be in dire financial shape if the income tax increases expire as scheduled in 2019.
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