California Proposition 1D, Education Facility Repairs And Upgrades Bond Measure (2006)

VOTE YES ON 1D: WE NEED TO INVEST IN OUR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION BECAUSE PROVIDING A QUALITY EDUCATION IS THE BEST THING WE CAN DO TO INVEST IN THEIR FUTURE

1D provides the funding to make our schools earthquake safe, reduce overcrowding, update our schools for the latest technology, build new facilities for vocational education, and build college labs that make the discoveries which fuel California’s economy.

VOTE YES ON 1D: MAKE OUR SCHOOLS EARTHQUAKE SAFE

Our children’s safety should be our top priority! The State Architect has determined that over 7,000 school buildings and many others on college campuses need structural upgrades to be earthquake safe.

VOTE YES ON 1D: REDUCE OVERCROWDING IN OUR SCHOOLS

Over a million students are trying to learn in schools with at least 75% more students than they were designed for. 1D will begin building enough schools so that our children can receive the quality education they deserve.

PROP. 1D INVESTS IN:

• Construction of approximately 6,500 new K–12 classrooms and 3,000 community college classrooms
• Repairing 31,000 classrooms
• Building science, engineering labs, and classrooms
• Providing 3,000 vocational education facilities

Visit ReadForYourself.org for a list of 1D projects.

1D IS SUPPORTED BY BOTH GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER AND BY DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR PHIL ANGELIDES. Leaders of both parties along with education and civic organizations all agree investing in our kids’ education is the most important thing we can do to invest in their future.

VOTE YES ON 1D: NEW FACILITIES FOR VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Many students need vocational training instead of college, but our schools do not have up-to-date facilities to provide it. 1D will enable schools to provide the career and technical training many students need to get jobs.

VOTE YES ON 1D: STRICT ACCOUNTABILITY PROVISIONS

Every dollar must be strictly accounted for on a project by-project basis with independent state and local audits. Misuse of funds is a crime, punishable by imprisonment.

VOTE YES ON 1D: FOR OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE

California’s future cannot wait. The best way to grow our economy and create good-paying jobs is to make sure our schools, community colleges, and universities have the facilities to train our kids. 1D provides necessary funding to build the community college and university labs and facilities they need.

Parents, teachers, and California’s leaders agree that we need 1D to provide a quality public education, to make our schoolchildren safer in the event of an earthquake, and to allow community colleges and universities to improve their facilities.

YES ON 1D: PART OF A LONG-TERM PLAN TO REBUILD CALIFORNIA

Proposition 1D is part of the Rebuild California Plan, which uses the taxes we’re already paying to build the roads, housing, schools, and water systems we need to sustain our economy and our quality of life for the long term.

THE REBUILD CALIFORNIA PLAN: YES ON 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, AND 1E^[2]

Proposition 1D is too big. Rather than limiting this bond measure to the essential needs of building new schools and rehabilitating older ones, this bond funds a variety of new, untested programs such as Career and Technical Education facilities, Overcrowding Relief Grants, seismic safety upgrades, energy efficiency incentives, small learning communities, and a medical education expansion with some new “telemedicine” program. We need to stick to the essentials and drop the fluff.

Proposition 1D is short-sighted. Governor Schwarzenegger’s 10-year infrastructure plan gave the state a perfect opportunity to do some long-term planning. But what happened? We get another short-term bond proposal. Proposition 1D is only designed to fund the next two years of need. Even though many school districts are facing declining enrollment today, by the end of the decade enrollment in schools all over the state will begin growing again. How are schools supposed to plan if all they get are a series of short term fixes? Proposition 1D is more borrowing. Why do we have to incur more debt to build and modernize schools? We can expand year-round school and better utilize our existing school facilities. Why can’t we fund school construction on a pay-as-you-go basis?

Proposition 1D is too costly. It is a $10.4 billion education bond. The interest costs will push the total cost of the bond well above $10.4 billion. Can we really afford this?

While education is important, it is not the only priority we need to worry about. We need to deal with other problems including holding down California’s debt and borrowing. And, there are more important things to spend money on than new vocational education facilities, energy efficiency, and seismic safety upgrades. It’s about time we said No to more and more education spending.

Vote NO on Proposition 1D.^[2]