November 3, 2016
Today, CASH released a joint letter with the Association of California School Administrations, California’s School Boards Association, and California Association of School Business Officials on resources that schools should take to protect child health when using polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Click here to read the full letter.
Click here to read the fact sheet.
~ CASH Staff
October 27, 2016
Thank you for your continued support of Prop 51 and safe schools for our students. With your help, the Proposition 51 campaign has gained broad and diverse support throughout the state of California.
In addition to our TV spots featuring a teacher and a school nurse, our “Sí a la Prop 51” video with former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been running on Univision.com to engage our Spanish speaking audience.
You can watch and share Mayor Villaraigosa’s Spanish-language video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/DX0pis6T360
From now until Election Day the videos will be running on Univision.com. Take a look at today’s ads on the Los Angeles homepage!
http://www.univision.com/los-angeles/kmex
Let’s continue to urge our contacts to vote Yes on 51 to repair and upgrade older schools, keeping the promise of a quality education in California. Please continue to show your support by sharing a link to Mayor Villaraigosa’s video and using our hashtag, #YesOn51.
ICYMI: Yes on Proposition 51
By Teresa Casazza | October 20, 2016
“In November, California taxpayers will have a number of initiatives to consider, including one – Proposition 51 – that will make an important investment in California’s aging school facilities.
California’s schools are showing their age. Approximately 30 percent are more than 50 years old, and many need major renovations to meet basic health and safety standards. Also, many counties are growing, and need new schools that are well-equipped to prepare students to enter the workforce or the higher education system.
Proposition 51, a state school facilities bond, will help school districts fix and repair outdated schools and build new schools where needed. The measure will replenish the School Facility Program Fund so that districts can access matching state funds and protect local taxpayers from higher taxes…
If Proposition 51 isn’t approved, how will school districts meet their needs? Through local tax increases on property owners – taxes that hurt communities, harm small businesses and increase housing costs for working families, renters, and homeowners…
By Modesto Bee Editorial Board | October 13, 2016
“…The bond issue would make $3 billion available in state matching grants for new school construction. More important to communities that have seen declines in student populations, it would provide $3 billion for districts to renovate, update and modernize older schools. There’s money for charter schools, community colleges, and technical education programs.
Don’t doubt the need is dire. A Modesto City Schools study put the district’s capital facilities needs at $1 billion. That’s probably vastly overstated, but the need is clear. So is the need for modernization on most campuses.
Too many Valley districts are forced into choosing between making repairs keep students safe and investing in the updates and innovations that will prepare students for 21st-century jobs. By necessity, those choices veer toward safety and away from a better future.
If Proposition 51 passes, 24 school districts in Stanislaus, south San Joaquin, and Tuolumne counties will be eligible to benefit. In Merced and Mariposa counties, another eight districts will be eligible. Combined, it could mean $149 million in new facilities for the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
In Stanislaus County, there are six school bond measures on the ballot this November; all will make a good case for matching funds if Proposition 51 passes.
…Both the California Democratic and Republican parties endorse Proposition 51 along with the California Chamber of Commerce, California Labor Federation, and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
We can never be certain our legislature will ever get around to helping us prepare for the students we are certain will be arriving. Vote yes on Proposition 51; California’s 6.2 million students are depending on it.”
Read the full article here at The Modesto Bee website.
BY THE MERCED SUN-STAR EDITORIAL BOARD | October 13, 2016
From Los Angeles to San Francisco to Sacramento and back again, public policy officials have been wailing over California’s housing shortage and resulting high prices.
Median-priced California homes cost $469,000. More Californians rent than do residents of any other state except New York. Even a parking space in San Francisco costs $500 a month. The law of supply-and-demand insists a building boom is imminent. If the past is a prelude, that boom will echo throughout the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
Consider: a house payment in San Francisco consumes 95 percent of a resident’s median income. But in Merced County it’s only 40 percent. In Stanislaus County it’s 44 and San Joaquin 51. We’ve always been a magnet for Bay Area families seeking affordable housing; when the next wave arrives, many will have children in tow. And those children will need schools.
Which brings us to Proposition 51.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Erin Shaw
October 12, 2016
Yes on Prop 51 Campaign Announces Endorsement From State Treasurer Chiang
Today, the Yes on Proposition 51 campaign announced that California State Treasurer John Chiang has endorsed the state school facilities bond on the November ballot. Proposition 51 will provide new bonding authority to help districts bring school facilities up to basic and health safety standards, complete major renovations to aging facilities like seismic retrofits and the removal of hazardous material and build new schools where needed.
“Our kids deserve schools where they can be safe and succeed,” said Chiang. It’s been 10 years since we passed a statewide school bond, and Prop 51 will repair and upgrade older schools, relieve classroom overcrowding and make sure all schools meet basic health and safety standards. It is the right way to repair and upgrade schools while protecting taxpayers.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Erin Shaw
October 10, 2016
Yes on Prop 51 Campaign Announces Endorsement From the California State Assembly Speaker
Today, the Yes on Proposition 51 campaign announced that California State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D- Paramount) has endorsed the state school facilities bond on the November ballot. Proposition 51 will provide new bonding authority to help districts bring school facilities up to basic and health safety standards, complete major renovations to aging facilities like seismic retrofits and the removal of hazardous material and build new schools where needed.
“Our schools desperately need Proposition 51 to fix and update aging schools. Vote on Proposition 51 to make sure we can continue to serve our students and teachers by providing quality teaching and learning environments,” said Speaker Rendon. “Without matching state grant funds, many schools across California will shelve repairs, renovation and improvement projects, or face astronomical increases in local taxes and fees that would be devastating to our schools, neighborhoods, and communities. Join me in supporting our kids and educators for better and safer schools.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Erin Shaw
October 6, 2016 916.930.0100
YES ON PROP 51 CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCES ENDORSEMENT FROM FORMER
LOS ANGELES MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA
LOS ANGELES, CA —The Yes on Proposition 51 campaign today announced that former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has endorsed the measure and will be barnstorming California to promote the need for this state school facilities bond.
“Our children deserve a learning environment free from asbestos, lead paint, and classrooms with properly working air conditioners, heating units, and functioning ventilation systems,” Villaraigosa said. “With an over $2 billion backlog of crucial repairs and upgrades, our children can’t wait anymore. Schools need to be up to basic health and safety standards.”
He said that polls show voters heavily supportive of the measure once they are made aware of its provisions.
“The goal from now until November 8 is to communicate to voters, especially those in the Latino community, about the value, need and broad bipartisan support for this measure,” he said. “I appreciate the opportunity to offer my assistance in promoting this truly critical school bond to California voters.”
Prop 51 will provide $9 billion in matching state grant funds to help local districts bring school facilities up to basic and health safety standards, and complete such major renovations to aging school buildings as seismic retrofits and the removal of hazardous material like asbestos or lead pipes. It also authorizes the construction of new schools were needed to relieve overcrowding.
School Bonds Used to be as Controversial as Mom & Apple Pie
Not Anymore Under Governor Jerry Brown
By George Skelton | October 3, 2016
It’s a sign of our contentious times and California’s contrarian governor that people are even bickering over routine state school construction bonds.
Selling state bonds to help local districts build new schools and modernize old ones used to be about as controversial as motherhood and apple pie. No longer.
Practically everything these days seems politically divisive.
Proposition 51 on the November state ballot is a low-profile issue for most voters, one of those wonky eye-glazers. But behind the scenes, the ballot initiative has stirred turmoil, mainly because of Gov. Jerry Brown.
Brown is bothered by the whole state school bond system. He thinks it’s too favorable to large and financially stable districts and is unfair toward smaller and poorer ones.
That’s vintage Brown. He tends to give middle-class districts short shrift and prioritizes spending on disadvantaged schools. That’s apparently a holdover from his early monk life as a Jesuit seminarian.
Continue reading
Yes on 51: A Boost for Public Schools
By The Press Democrat Editorial Board | October 1, 2016
“…Proposition 51, a $9 billion bond act on the Nov. 8 ballot, is an opportunity to improve facilities for students in public schools and community colleges, including those here in Sonoma County.
…Tom Torlakson, the state’s school superintendent, said the alternative to Proposition 51 is diverting “precious funding away from teaching and learning activities,” and the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce says the initiative is critical to completing local school projects.
…Here in Sonoma County, at least five school districts and Santa Rosa Junior College have construction projects in progress after voters approved local school bonds in recent elections. Six local school districts have bond measures totaling $340 million on the Nov. 8 ballot. State bond money could stretch those local dollars further.
…Local voters have been generous with public schools, and there would be opportunities to leverage those dollars if the state’s fund for construction and repairs is recharged. With that in mind, The Press Democrat recommends a yes vote on Proposition 51.”
Read the full article here at The Press Democrat website.
To learn more about this vital measure, please visit YesOn51.com.