Proposition 26 and the Schools

* We have all heard a lot of talk in recent years about our schools. Fortunately, in Santa Clarita we have had good schools. Our children’s test scores, graduation rates and accomplishments in and out of the classroom attest to this. Unfortunately, many of our schools are aging and are in urgent need of renovation, the kind that cannot be done with minimal maintenance funds.

We believe that the people of Santa Clarita want a solid roof over their children’s heads. We think they want enough working electrical outlets in every classroom to plug in the computers we are trying to make available to all students. We are confident that parents want safe facilities for their children to go to each day, not dilapidating structures that get shabbier with the years.

Proposition 26 will make it easier to pass local school bonds by reducing the number of votes needed from two-thirds to a simple majority--something 43 other states already have. Proposition 26 gives power back to the majority by enabling it to fix deteriorating schools and build badly needed new ones. It also has measures to ensure that the money is spent on the schools as the voters approved it.

Help preserve the tradition of quality education in Santa Clarita. Vote yes on Proposition 26.

DENNIS KING

President, William S. Hart

Union High School District

Governing Board

BOB LEE

Superintendent, William S. Hart

Union High School District

ORVAL GARRISON

President, Hart District

Teachers Assn.

SANDY DEUTSCH

President, Chapter 349,

California School Employees Assn.

*

How can the Los Angeles Times, which is supposed to inform the citizens of Los Angeles of local and national news, come out in favor of Proposition 26? This measure purports to provide a means to fix things in our schools that will lead to better learning. However, the main goal of this measure is to change the California Constitution to remove the two-thirds vote required to pass tax increases, and make it easier to get voter approval for school bonds by lowering the vote necessary to pass the measures.

This will result in increased property taxes and no upper limit on how high property taxes can be raised by such measures.

Shame on The Times for not revealing the complete nature of this proposition.

RON KELLEY

Chatsworth