Prop 30 Op-ED essay

Horacio Genis

English 2

10/09/12

Save Our Future

Over the last four years California’s educational systems have been suffering a lot because of the budget cuts. In California, every student’s education is in danger. For students in higher education tuition every semester is rising and is making it harder for all of those who want to continue their education in higher education. The budget cuts make it much harder for community college students to transfer to Universities and receive their degrees. So many programs in schools have been eliminated over the past years. Some of these programs make a huge difference for students to succeed in school and life. Our Governor Jerry Brown has a plan to save our school from huge cuts. His plan is proposition 30 which proposes to tax the wealthiest and increase the sale tax. This proposition will prevent trigger cuts to K-12 schools, community colleges, universities, state park rangers, forestry and fire department, developmental Services, as well as city police department. As a Cabrillo College student struggling to continue my education, I urge you to vote Yes on prop 30.

If proposition 30 is unsuccessful, it will trigger billion of cuts to all of the public schools, Community Colleges, UCS’s system and CSU’s system in California. According to The Institute On Taxation and Economy Policy, California’s K-12 schools will experience a $6 billion trigger cut making their academic year three weeks shorter. California Community colleges will experience a $550 million cut. The CSU system will experience a $250 billion trigger cut. If prop 30 does not pass the CSU system will increase their tuition by five percent to most of the students and the nonresidents will see a seven percent increase hoping to raise $58 million to cover the loss. The cost per unit will increase from $372 to $399. The UC system will get a $250 billion trigger cut. ??. Over the past four years, cuts have made it harder for many students to continue in higher education. The failure of prop 30 will make many students drop from schools and make it harder for the rest of them to continue to continue their education.

Most of the money raised from the proposition will come from increasing tax rates on the wealthiest. The Institute On Taxation and Economy Policy states that,  Prop 30 will increase the tax rate on incomes above $250,000 per individual and from couples earning $500,000 for seven years. Also a sale tax rate will increase by one-quarter of a cent for the next four years, starting on January 1 2013. California’s base tax rate sale is 7.25 percent and it will increase to 7.50 percent; it is expected to raise $1.2 billion. All of the money raise from the tax increase will continue funding schools and programs that students need succeed in schools.

 The money raise will continue funding programs in schools that most of the students use to succeed and transfer to the university. Programs in Cabrillo College like the Integrated Learning Center, The Writing Center, The Math Learning Center, and EOP will continue open for students that need help with their homework or financial help. These programs are so helpful for students like me who are learning English and have a hard time writing their papers. These programs help a lot students to pass their classes. I cannot imagine what would happen if all of these programs close. We will not have a place to go for help with our math and English homework. Many students will probably fail their classes and not continuing their education. These programs make a difference to many students succeed and complete their education and graduate. It will make it much easier for students to transfer to universities

. The economic situation at Cabrillo College has already delayed my graduation along with many other students too. .  Proposition 30 will decide whether students continue their education. Here in Cabrillo College, tuition every semester increases more and more for all students. For people like me who don’t receive financial aid it much harder because we have to pay almost $600 dollars for 3 classes.(eleven units) Besides the high cost per units  many classes have been eliminated and this makes it even harder to continue our education My concern is that students will be able to receive their degree. The increasing costs of tuition will private many students to graduate. I worry that I may not be able to graduate at all and attend San Jose state university.

When I graduated from High School I knew I wanted to go in to health care. When I was just I little kid I had a bad experience that made me realize the importance of health care. I grew up in a little town, in Puebla México where health care resources are very limited and in our town we didn’t have medical clinics for our people who got sick. My grandpa, who I used to see as a father would get sick a lot because he had lung disease. We would have to drive an hour to a town where they had a clinic. Getting help for my grandpa was difficult because of the distance, money issues and we didn’t have a car and we needed to ask someone from the town who had a car to help us take him to the clinic. I decided to go into healthcare because I believe it’s sad to see people not getting help when they are sick. I would not like for other people to see or go through my experience because of the budget cuts that will make it harder for people to complete their education in health care. Less people will go into health care and this is an industry in demand.

Cutting resources will not make it possible for today’s students to complete their degrees and fill the jobs of the future. According to The Public policy institute of California, California is facing a shortfall in supply of college-educated workers. Predictions of the state’s economy show that the state will need an increasing demand for college-educated workers, but the state will not meet this demand unless decision makers implement policies that will affect College attendance and college graduation. Hans Johnson states “Two strong forces are

already at work in constraining California’s gradually increasing share of college graduates in

the working population: the retirement of the large and relatively well-educated baby-boom

cohort—adults born between 1946 and 1964—which will occur over the next 20 years, and

demographic shifts toward groups that have historically low rates of college attendance and

graduation” (p1). The retirement of the Baby-Boom over the next 20 years leaving a big gap of jobs open, the demographics show that, the responsibility to fill the gap will be turn to groups that not attended college and graduate. Hans believes that by the year 2025 demographics estimate that there will be 1 million few college graduated that are needed for that year. He comments that only 35 percent of the working-age will have a college degree in an economy that requires 41 percent of people to have a college degree. The only way to meet the required percent is if college attendance increase, community college transfer increase, and graduations among four year universities increase. Voting on prop 30 will make it possible for students to fill the gap of jobs the baby-boomers left behind.

Our schools have suffered a lot and we can’t let this continue to happening. We need to stop the cuts to make it possible for students to continue in higher education. We want to have a strong economy and better future for the next generation. By voting yes on prop 30, you will help stop the increase of tuition and make it possible to afford to continue our education.  Many young people will stay in schools and away from the streets to avoid danger. The billions of dollars raised will help keep programs open that students need and making it possible for people to have a job.