Near the tipping point in funding fight

Dianne Harman

My husband, Assemblyman Tom Harman, and I recently attended a rally

that was held at Sowers Middle School in Huntington Beach. Parents

and students held the rally to protest the closure of Kettler School

located in the Huntington Beach City School District.

If you think no one cares about education-funding issues in this

state, try telling that to the 400 or so concerned parents who

attended the rally. I was really impressed that the rally was

organized on only three days’ notice.

In that short time, the organizers arranged to have professional

signs donated by local real estate agents, printed T-shirts and

successfully got two TV stations, as well as members of the press, to

attend the event.

To say that these parents are angry and upset would be the

understatement of the year.

Among other things, they are angry about school closures, the

elimination of librarians and school nurses, as well as the

governor’s proposed suspension of Proposition 98, the constitutional

guarantee that provides funding to schools throughout the state.

T-shirts were worn by a majority of those in attendance indicating

their support of Proposition 98 and opposing the governor’s broken

promise to repay the $2 billion he cut from education funding last

year.

The bottom line of all the rhetoric (by the way, both sides on

this issue have conflicting facts and figures) is that last year the

education coalition agreed to a $2-billion cut in education funding

in order to help the state of California weather its budget crisis.

That was to be a one-time only cut. The education community, which

includes parents, teachers and school boards, is angry with the

governor, not only because he broke his promise but also because he

has proposed to take away from the schools an additional $2.3 billion

that they are entitled to under Proposition 98. This means that the

schools will not only lose the original $2 billion but also any

increase the schools are entitled to receive due to increasing state

revenues.

Parents are vehement in their feelings that the state budget

should not be balanced on the backs of the children of this state.

Rallies such as the one in Huntington Beach are being held up and

down the state in opposition to the governor’s proposed cuts to

education. Without the necessary funding from the state, many more

schools will be closed.

So what is the cause of this problem? Is the governor solely

responsible for this crisis in education? The answer to those

questions are not easy.

Yes, the governor’s cuts to education are part of the problem, but

there are other factors that have caused this situation to develop.

Declining enrollments in many schools is a major problem. Every

school receives from the state approximately $4,500 per year for each

student that attends that particular school. As enrollments decline,

schools lose a major source of funding.

Then there is the problem of skyrocketing costs related to special

education. Everyone agrees that the requirements of students with

special needs have to be fully and adequately funded; however, it has

become apparent that the cost of providing these services to a

limited number of students has gotten completely out of hand. In some

school districts, special-education costs now amount to nearly 10% of

the entire school district budget.

So what is the solution to the crisis in education funding? Should

we support or oppose the governor’s proposed cuts to education

funding? What about Proposition 98? Should it remain as a

constitutional guarantee for education funding? That means it will be

on autopilot, and almost all of the increases in future state

revenues will go for education to the exclusion of other needs such

as healthcare, transportation and the environment.

There are no easy answers to any of these questions.

However, I recently read a book by Malcolm Gladwell, called “The

Tipping Point,” that might help answer these questions. The premise

of the book is that “when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a

threshold,” something tips; and when that happens, a movie becomes a

hit, a book a bestseller, or some new fashion concept is deemed to be

“in.”

If the rally held in Huntington Beach is a sign of things to come,

I think we may have arrived at a tipping point in California as it

relates to school funding.

* DIANNE HARMAN is the wife of Assemblyman Tom Harman, 67th

Assembly District. She is a candidate for his seat in the Legislature

in the June 2006 primary election. To contribute to “Sounding Off”

e-mail us at hbindy@latimes.com or fax us at (714) 966-4667.