Schwarzenegger's After-School Plan Needs More Study

In 2002, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger created a ballot initiative for after-school programs that he used as a springboard to the governor's office the next year. Now, that measure is about to become a drain on the state treasury — and on schools. There's mounting pressure on the governor to delay his after-school program expansion — or dump it entirely. Critics say state government can't afford the $426-million cost. Sacramento still is writing checks in red ink. The governor has proposed spending $6.4 billion more than the state takes in during the fiscal year starting July 1, when he intends to greatly expand after-school programs.

Blame ballot-box budgeting, the bane of representative government. The more the public strips away the power of the governor and the legislature to manage tax dollars, the weaker the elected officials become — and the less that gets done in Sacramento. Ballot-box budgeting is running amok. It usually involves a noble cause with an ignoble means: raiding the treasury or gobbling up a tax source at the expense of other public needs, such as healthcare, law enforcement or classroom instruction.

Hollywood producer Rob Reiner's Proposition 10 was another prime example. It raised the cigarette tax by 50 cents a pack to pay for early childhood development programs. Voters narrowly passed the initiative. Afterward, there was little public accountability. Recently it was disclosed that the Reiner-headed commission created by Prop. 10 had spent $23 million of public money for TV ads to promote Reiner's latest political cause: "Preschool for All."

Reiner at least would raise taxes to fund his program, unlike Schwarzenegger. But Democrats long have eyed the same revenue pot — a tax on upper incomes — to finance other causes, like honestly balancing the budget. Republicans, while pummeling Reiner, are lying low on Schwarzenegger.

From the Legislative Analysts Office analysis of the Governor's proposed budget (source):

Recommend Legislature Repeal Proposition 49
We continue to recommend the Legislature enact legislation placing before the voters a repeal of Proposition 49 because (1) it triggers an autopilot augmentation even though the state is facing a structural budget gap of billions of dollars, (2) the additional spending on after school programs is a lower budget priority than protecting districts’ base education program, and (3) existing state and federal after school funds are going unused.
In the 2005-06 Analysis, we recommended the Legislature repeal Proposition 49. We continue that position, recommending that the Legislature place the repeal of Proposition 49 before the voters on the June 2006 ballot for the following reasons: (1) it triggers badly timed autopilot spending, (2) the program is a lower priority than other K-12 needs, (3) the program may crowd out K-12 spending on higher priority programs, and (4) Proposition 49 funds are not likely to be spent in a timely manner.
Autopilot Spending Badly Timed. Proposition 49’s intent was to give after school programs the first call on additional General Fund revenues. Since its passage, the fiscal environment has changed significantly—with the state struggling through several consecutive years of budget difficulties. The state continues to face a significant budget problem with a multibillion dollar structural budget gap for the near future. Moreover, the autopilot formula that triggers Proposition 49 creates additional spending obligations without the Legislature and Governor being able to assess the merits of the augmentation compared to other budget priorities
(snip)

The biggest critic of Schwarzenegger's program is not a Democrat, but nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Elizabeth G. Hill... She recommends repealing Prop. 49, but realizes this is virtually impossible. So she suggests either a delay or a phase-in over several years.

Schwarzenegger is dead set against a delay.

Says Bonnie Reiss, Schwarzenegger's senior advisor and former executive director of his pre-gubernatorial after-school programs: "It would be a mistake to delay it. This amount of money, relative to the [$125.6-billion] budget is so small…. Now more than ever the extra $426 million is critical to helping schools keep their doors open" [after hours].

Ms. Reiss sounds like the good liberal she is. What's 1/2 billion in the scheme of things?

All one has to do is follow the money... Arnold's After-School All Stars fka Inner City Games Foundation, Miracles, etc. The liberals are getting rich with the Rob Reiner model.

It used to be non-profits were set up to perform these tasks using charitable donations. Now the non-profits are set up just to extract taxpayer dollars from the state and enrich their leadership.

We already have an after school program, it's called HOMEWORK!

My teachers and my parents encouraged me to enter detention as often as possible. They felt I was better off under some supervision than home watching American Bandstand.

Little did they know that coach Dayton, who usually got the short straw at the faculty drawing, was so old he was practically blind and deaf and did little else beside nap until 4:30.

We had time to finish our homework assignments with time leftover to study Republican politics.

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