As part of its annual legislative interview process, the League of Women Voters of Piedmont together with other local Leagues, participated in interviews of California State Senator Nancy Skinner and State Assemblymember Buffy Wicks. Legislative interviews are an opportunity for legislators to share their priorities with local Leagues and develop an understanding of League positions and priorities.
This article highlights Equitable Funding for California’s School Facilities Program and the legislators' responses to the following question.
Construction or modernization of school facilities is normally financed by issuing general obligation bonds at the state and local levels. Repayment of state bonds issued is financed from General Fund revenue. Local bond measures are financed by property tax increases during the lifetime of the bonds issued. California’s School Facility Program provides grants to local school districts to help fund new construction and modernization.
Dependence on property taxes means that to fund school construction/modernization, taxpayers in districts with low property value per student must pay a far higher property tax rate than those in wealthier districts to raise the same amount of money per student. Would you advocate for changes to the School Facilities Program to reduce this inequity? One way to do this would be to have the School Facilities Program structured so that the required match percentage from a school district is reduced for low-wealth districts.