Proposition 82 too

Here's another point of view.
Santa Cruz Sentinal

Opinion
As We See It:

Preschool Proposal in Trouble

Proposition 82 is in trouble. And it should be.

The measure, authored by actor-director-activist Rob Reiner, is a feel-good proposal to make preschool available to any 4-year-old in the state.

First, the good. Nearly every study demonstrates that sending children to preschool leads to success in later years. And that's the lofty goal of the measure, to make our children more successful.
But, there's plenty of bad. And Reiner has made some bad choices in pushing the measure.
In short, the measure should be scrapped. And voters should rise up to defeat it.

Here are some of the problems. The major one is that a tax to fund it will only worsen California's financial picture.

California already collects a huge percentage of its taxes from its wealthiest citizens. Although that idea makes sense — and is certainly politically popular — it's a bad way to collect revenue. If you've ever wondered why the state's books go from black ink to red ink and then back again, it's because its tax structure is flawed.

When the economy is good, people make more money. There are a lot of high-end salaries, and the state takes in revenue from their taxes. But when the economy turns bad, fewer people are at the high end. And some who remain leave the state for states with lower taxes. The result? A budget shortfall.

The state just can't keep lurching from surplus to deficit. Proposition 82 would make this bad situation worse because 100 percent of the financing would come from those making more than $400,000 a year. Yes, they can afford it. No, it's not a reliable source of income.

Then there's the proposal itself. The money is not focused on those who can't afford preschool; it's focused on all kids. As state Sen. President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, recently told The Sacramento Bee, "It looks to me like it's really a boon for upper-to-middle class families.

Proposition 82 would require teachers with credentials in the preschools. That's not the case now, and we're not convinced that it's worth getting rid of all the current preschool teachers without credentials. Additionally, Daniel Weintraub of the Bee points out that the higher salaries and the higher schooling requirements would probably put a number of small, private preschools out of business.

Perata told Weintraub: "There will be great pressure on the county superintendents to use school districts for preschools, because school district employees will provide that pressure."
Perata, who once supported the measure, has dropped his support. "There are better uses for that $2.4 billion," he said.

If preschool is something that's valuable, we'd much rather see the issue addressed through the Legislature. This measure has the same problem that many initiatives do: it has had no give-and-take, compromise and discussion that can strengthen the proposal and remove the flaws.

Finally, there's the issue of unfair political advertising. Reiner has used his position on the state's First Five commission to advertise the benefits of preschool. The commission approved $23 million in taxpayer dollars essentially to promote the upcoming vote. Bad move.

But then again, the unfair campaigning is hardly the worst part of it. Proposition 82 is expensive, and the payoff for Californians is doubtful.