The entire country took notice when school teachers in Southern California voted to go on strike this year, and since that time there have been hundreds of stories published that illustrate the many problems that are plaguing the education system here in the Golden State.
Unfortunately, those problems aren’t likely to improve in the near future, and the students of California are going to be the victims of a very difficult situation. Let’s take a closer look at some of the issues the schools are facing here in 2019.
No Funding Stems from Prop 13
The root of the problem dates back to the late 1970s when legislation known as Proposition 13 was pitched to California voters as a way to curb out-of-control government spending. But what this law actually did was limit the ability of counties across the state to raise their school taxes.
As a result of that restriction, many of the public schools around the state have been underfunded for decades now, which has left them struggling to deliver even basic education levels.
No Funding for New School Construction
In addition to restricting funding for existing schools, California has also had a hard time coming up with any money or incentives for constructing new schools.
This has led to a massive shortage in new school construction that has seen the state fall way behind other states in terms of technology-ready classrooms.
Charter Schools in Trouble Too
Not only are the state’s public schools in trouble, but the future doesn’t look bright for California’s charter schools either.
While many of these private schools are fortunate to have wealthy supporters backing them, the public schools that see them as competition are constantly pushing the government to hold them to lofty standards that might be difficult to maintain.
The Education Data System
One positive idea that seems to be picking up steam among California lawmakers is the implementation of an “educational data system” that would be able to track every student in the public school system throughout their entire lives.
While this type of system has plenty of theoretical benefits, it also runs into the exact same limitations that every other good idea has in California, which is a complete lack of funding.
With no central authority to run the system and no funds available to pay for it, most California residents still consider it little more than a pipe dream.
Tax Cuts Could Make Things Worse
Just about everyone within the California public school system will agree that lack of funding is a significant problem, but that issue could get even worse in the coming years.
President Trump is actively trying to limit the amount of taxes that an investor has to pay after successfully exiting a startup investment. And with much of California’s tax revenue coming from these types of investments in Silicon Valley, this could be another big blow to education.
Not only does California need more money to fund its public schools, it also needs more positive people that want to work to turn around the damage that has been done over the past few decades. Only then will th
