No windfall, just survival
By The Bakersfield Californian
Regarding the Sept. 4 letter "Yes on 30: Support education": I commend the writer, a college student, for his support of Proposition 30's passage and his interest in public education. However, he repeats a common misconception about the results of Prop. 30: "This initiative begins to restore the cuts that have been made to our schools, libraries, clinics and essential services."
Should Prop. 30 be approved by the electorate in November, it will not bring any new revenue to schools. The fact is, it will only prevent $6 billion in further cuts that have already been "put on the books" by the Legislature. We are voting on whether those "trigger cuts" will take place or not.
If the cuts do not happen, school districts will still have to deal with the same level of funding they received in the past but will have to dig deeper into reserves to pay for increased costs such as utilities, steps and column raises, increased health benefit costs and student transportation.
There is no "windfall" for public education by the passage of Prop. 30; there is only survival. The passage of Proposition 30 is essential for that reason.
Bill McDougle
Bakersfield
Most CommentedMost Popular
A forceful Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood announced at a tense press conference Thursday that David Sal Silva, whose death earlier this month raised questions about use of force by deputies, died as a result of hypertensive heart disease and was not only intoxicated but had methamphetamine...
The death of a man in custody following a prolonged struggle with Kern County Sheriff's deputies and CHP officers and the subsequent fracas over confiscated witness cellphones have gained international attention and raised concerns here that the incidents could tarnish the county's emerging...
The Kern County Sheriff's Office is out of control. That's one conclusion many people will draw based on the events of the past two weeks and in the context of recent years.
Sheriff’s investigators served a search warrant on Kern Medical Center and the Mary K. Shell Mental Health Center seeking medical records to find possible reasons for David Sal Silva’s behavior prior to and during his encounter with law enforcement, The Californian learned Friday.
Blood stains are still visible on the sidewalk at the corner of Flower Street and Palm Drive, where a Bakersfield man struggled with as many as nine officers and later died this week.
Classes were canceled at Bakersfield High School Monday after three small bottle bomb explosions struck campus, authorities said.
A forceful Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood announced at a tense press conference Thursday that David Sal Silva, whose death earlier this month raised questions about use of force by deputies, died as a result of hypertensive heart disease and was not only intoxicated but had methamphetamine and other drugs in his system at the time of his death.
David Sal Silva’s screams seem like they will never stop.