In the last four years, our schools and colleges have been hit with $20 billion in cuts, have lost 30,000 faculty members, and now have class sizes that are among the largest in the country.

Prop. 30 is the only measure on the November ballot that prevents another $6 billion in “trigger cuts” to schools and colleges scheduled to kick in January 1. Prop. 30 invests billions in new funding in our schools by taxing those who can most afford it, asking only people who make more than $250,000 per year to pay more income taxes.

Prop. 30 is a progressive tax measure, with 90 percent of the revenues coming from wealthy taxpayers, and the other 10 percent from the small increase in the sales tax. The ¼-cent sales tax is half the size of the governor’s former proposal, and will represent just one in nine dollars raised by the new measure to provide desperately needed revenues to rebuild our schools and services.

In March, CFT and its coalition allies sponsoring the Millionaires Tax reached agreement with Gov. Jerry Brown and top legislative leaders to set aside their dueling ballot initiatives and together support one state revenue measure that became Proposition 30.

Prop. 30 will raise $9 billion in the first year, and $6 billion a year for six years after that, for public education and other services. It will also provide constitutional approval for the governor’s realignment of funding for local public safety services while protecting Proposition 98 school funding.

Money raised by Prop 30. will be put in a dedicated account that the Legislature cannot touch, subject to an independent yearly audit to ensure it is being spent only for schools and community colleges. The audit will be open to the public so voters and parents know the funds are being spent properly.

Prop. 30 also establishes a guarantee for public safety funding in our state constitution, so the money can’t be touched without voter approval. It will keep cops on the street and save the state billions in prison costs over the long term.

Key to the success of Prop. 30 is that the measure gets most of the money from the people who have it and can easily afford to pay their fair share. The top 1 percent of income earners has doubled its share of California’s income, but those super wealthy individuals pay lower taxes than they did 20 years ago. If passed, Proposition 30 will be the single largest progressive tax ever passed in 
California history.

Vote YES on Prop. 30 to stop the cuts and start investing in our children again.