I am a parent of VUSD children and support public schools. My husband is, in fact, a teacher. I also grew up here when California ranked 3rd in nation and when all those great services (like choirs and art programs) were available at all school sites. Since then we have moved into 47th place. But Dr. Arriaga wants us to extend the new taxes to maintain services. These 'new taxes' were supposed to be temporary, but they are slowly becoming permanent under the guise of being a 'mere extension'. School districts have to live within their means, just like everyone else. She asks 'is this the right time to decrease taxes?' It most certainly is. The unemployment rates are high, people are losing their homes, and she asks this question. The answer is Yes. This is the right time to lift some burden on our overly taxed citizens.
The truth is that this state will never have enough money to adequately cover education expenses. And that is because we provide a FREE education for any K-12 child, regardless of legal status. Anybody who shows up at a Ventura school site with two current utility bills can be enrolled into the school. What about asking for a birth certificate or other form of legal documentation. Nope, just prove you pay rent somewhere in this neighborhood and you are in. Every year there are waves of families illegally entering and then residing in our county, for the benefits of jobs, education and health care. Tax paying and law abiding citizens bear the financial burden of these services freely given to non-citizens. This really has got to stop. Since the 1950's and 60's (of which Dr. Arriaga speaks), this has become an exponential problem. Over the years we have dropped art, music, increased class sizes, decreased teacher pay, etc. BUT have greatly expanded free lunch programs, increased on-site health services and created programs to accommodate Spanish speaking students. Most of the students benefiting from these programs are ones who are not even legal citizens. Nobody likes to talk about this, especially Dr. Arriaga. But until this issue is addressed, California schools will forever be in one financial crisis or another. I say 'no' on tax extensions, and 'yes' on taxpayer accountability and fiscal responsibility.