CA: Governor's School Plan Is Criticized (LAO says may be illegal)

Los Angeles Times ^ | February 25, 2005 | Evan Halper and Jordan Rau

[calcowgirl]

Offering withering appraisals of key parts of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's schools agenda, the nonpartisan legislative analyst warned Thursday that the governor's plan to change teacher pensions was probably illegal and recommended that lawmakers repeal his first foray into politics, the 2002 initiative expanding after-school programs.

Elizabeth G. Hill, whom lawmakers of both parties look to for advice on budget matters, said legal problems with the governor's plan to stop $469 million of teacher retirement payments — leaving schools or teachers to pick up the tab — made it unlikely that the state would save any money.

(snip)

"We simply suggest his proposal doesn't work," Robert Manwaring, director of K-12 education for the analyst's office, said of the governor's proposal to shift more of the retirement payments for teachers over to school districts. "Whether you adopt the proposal or not, there isn't a savings."

Manwaring said the proposal appeared to violate voter-approved formulas for school spending. If the state stops making its share of retirement payments, Manwaring said, it would be constitutionally obligated to make up that money to school districts elsewhere.

(snip)

The analyst's office also disputed Schwarzenegger's contention that even with the proposal, schools would still receive enough money in his budget to pay for enrollment growth and cost-of-living adjustments.

Hill said the governor's budget would leave schools about $500 million short. She suggested that the governor's proposed spending on schools would be close to adequate if he abandoned the plan to stop making teacher retirement payments.

[calcowgirl]

The analyst's report comes as school groups and the governor are battling over his refusal to pay schools all they are owed under Proposition 98. Schwarzenegger had pledged last year not to take any more of that money after schools had agreed to billions of dollars in reductions in the current budget.

But he later decided not to honor that deal, which would have increased school spending by $5.2 billion in the upcoming budget. Instead, the governor is proposing that the increase be limited to $2.9 billion — slightly more per student than schools received this year.

And according to his plan, any amounts due under Proposition 98 will simply be covered by new borrowing, along with Transportation expenses, to the tune of approximately $10 billion.

So much for cutting up credit cards.

[pabianice]

The collapse of the public school system in CA will show what will happen a few years down the road in your state.

[kellynla]

I heard Mayor Hahn say a week ago that half the kids in LA public schools don't even speak English.

If ya want to solve the budget problems, deport the illegals!

It's time for Vicente Fox to start solving Mexico's problems instead of dumping them on our back porch!

[kellynla]

BTW another piece of news came out on O'Reilly the other day, ONE BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR FOR MEDICAL CARE FOR THE INCARCERATED!
plastic surgery, male breast augmentation(whatever the hell that is! LOL) and ONE THIRD OF THE INCARCERATED ARE ILLEGALS!

[calcowgirl]

The schools are failing.
The hospitals are failing.
The prisons are overloaded.
There isn't enough affordable housing.
The highways are too congested.

The solution? As you said, deport the illegals.

[NEBUCHADNEZZAR1961]

Man you said it Calcowgirl! I can't believe how many of my friends and family, good conservatives, voted for Arnold's two propositions that were on the ballot in 2004! Boy do they hate it when I remind them that Arnold said that there would be no new borrowing after his initiatives passed!

Aside from his speech at the convention he has really hurt both the State and the conservative cause.

[stopem]

But that would be considered racist and not PC <sarcasm

[calcowgirl]

In addition to borrowing, he is forcing local government to raise taxes (per this thread), has raised school and park fees, and now wants to charge tolls on FREEways.

In his "State of the State" address last month and in his visits to newspapers in recent weeks, Schwarzenegger foreshadowed GoCalifornia. He made it clear motorists should pay higher tolls to use roads and bridges.

The other day, I read some old posts from the recall election discussing Arnold's platform of Tax Cuts! LOL. My how things change.

[NEBUCHADNEZZAR1961]

The other day, I read some old posts from the recall election discussing Arnold's platform of Tax Cuts! LOL. My how things change.

Oh how funny! Remember back during the recall how Arnold's supports would just parrot everything he said! It was obvious he was saying those things ("California has a spending problem, not a taxing problem") just to get elected. Fortunately I saw through his dog-and-pony-show and voted for the one guy who actually spelled out what cuts he'd make-McClintock.

Also remember Arnold's much vaunted and promised audit of the state spending? Never came. Just another Arnold broke promise.

[Osage Orange]

The other day, I read some old posts from the recall election discussing Arnold's platform of Tax Cuts!

Well...as they are prone to do in my state....they just raise the tolls, fees, fines, and permits. They just don't CALL them taxes...