Teachers unions express their opposition to Prop. 92

GLENDALE — A Burbank teacher was among teachers, nurses and small-business advocates who spoke out against Proposition 92 at a Monday morning news conference held at the office of the Glendale and Burbank teachers unions.

Proposition 92, which will be on the Feb. 5 ballot in California, would change the way state funding for community colleges is determined, and set minimum state funding requirements for community colleges that would be separate from the minimum state funding guarantees for kindergarten through 12th-grade education.

Opponents of Proposition 92 said they were big supporters of the state’s community colleges, but that this particular ballot measure would drain money from other state-funded programs, like transportation, public safety and other subsets of public education.

“[Proposition] 92 would do more harm than good,” said Dana Ragle, co-president of the Burbank Teachers Assn.

At a time when the governor is forecasting a budget deficit of $14.5 billion by the end of the 2008-09 fiscal year, implementing the ballot measure would cost the state close to $1 billion in the first three years it was in effect, Ragle said, citing the fiscal effects determined by the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.

That money would likely have to be drawn from other state-funded programs like public safety, said Joel Fox, president of the Small Business Action Committee, an advocacy organization for small businesses. But, the ballot measure does not describe where this additional funding for community colleges will come from, Fox said.

“We oppose Proposition 92 because it’s an unfunded mandate,” Fox said.

Currently, the minimum amount of state funding that goes to kindergarten through 12th-grade education and the community colleges is calculated annually based on attendance levels in kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as economic factors. Under Proposition 92, funding for community colleges would be determined based in part on population growth rates among people between the ages of 17 and 25, instead of attendance in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Opponents of the measure took issue with this formula, arguing that population growth among young adults and community college enrollment are not equivalent.