VUSD Trustees forced to cut Sixth Grade Camp

Our school board trustees were forced to cut all sixth grade camp in the school district because there was not enough money to pay for all sixth graders to go. Allowing some to go and denying that privilege to others who cannot afford to pay is discriminatory. A violation of our US and California Constitutions. So why don't we in VUSD have the money for sixth grade camp?

There is one reason and only one reason that fifth grade camp was cancelled, lack of money from the state of California thanks to the unconscionable actions of Sacramento Republicans. If VUSD school board trustees had the money for sixth grade camp, they would spend it.

The state of California provides some 80% of the funds to run VUSD, local taxes only 20% or so. In some school districts the difference is even more. In the rural San Joaquin school district where I was superintendent, the state provided 91% of our revenue.

If you want money for the sixth grade camp, art and music programs then the revenue that the state takes in must increase. By law more than 50% of state revenue must go to K-12 schools in California (Prop 98). But how to get more revenue for the state? Talk to a Sacramento Republican.

One hundred percent of Sacramento Republicans voted to deny we, the people of the state, the right to vote on whether we wanted a DOOMSDAY BUDGET that forces terrible decisions on local school boards or extend our current taxes for five more years. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2011/06/brown-and-democrats-team-up-on-budget-plan-without-gop-input.html

How could the minority party control our whole state? Easy our archaic two thirds rule for raising revenues plus the Sacramento Republicans vote in lockstep. Not one Republican is brave enough to vote his conscience. All must vote as the party bosses tell them to.

California has some of the lowest taxes in the country-- including oil extraction, car, real estate and income taxes on California's wealthiest (over 250K a year) which HAVE FALLEN by half in the last 15 years. But NOT ONE SINGLE Sacramento Republican would allow any discussion of increasing any of these sources of revenue or even allowing EXISTING taxes staying the same to be voted on by WE THE PEOPLE.

BTW California currently ranks squarely in the middle of the pack of the fifty states in all state taxes not anywhere near the highest as the lie-a-cons keep claiming.

Not only did Sacramento Republicans DENY, we the people our right to vote on extending existing taxes, they also would not agree to a SARAH PALIN approved tax on oil extraction in California.

Our state is the third largest producer of oil in the country after Alaska and Texas. In Alaska the whole state is financed by an oil extraction tax. Only in California is Big Oil allowed to take a limited precious resource for free from OUR California soil and give we the people back, bupkis.

Sarah Palin while governor of the state of Alaska signed an increase in her states oil extraction tax. If we in California had the very SAME TAX as Sarah Palin APPROVED, we would have billions more to spend on schools. But the Sacramento Republicans said NO NO NO to the idea at the direction of Grover Norquist aka "The King".http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/06/us-california-taxes-idUSTRE7055L420110106

If you want sixth grade camp or art and music for our kids, then tell our local Sacramento Republicans to stop kissing the ring of "the King" Norquist and help we the people in California first.

OUR LOCALLY ELECTED SACRAMENTO REPUBLICANS:
California Assembly
Martin Garrick (R) (760)929-7998
Nathan Fletcher (R) (858) 689-6290
Diane Harkey (R) (760) 757-8084

California Senate
Mark Wyland (R) (760) 931-2455

When you vote for Sacramento Republicans whose first loyalty is to a Washington DC lobbyist (the King Norquist) and not to the people of the state, your vote has consequences. In this case cut to sixth grade camp, on top of music and art cuts and class size increases and a shortened school year that VUSD students have already endured.