All About Money

The Acorn (Agoura Hilla, CA): The Las Virgenes and Oak Park unified school districts stand opposed to Proposition 76, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “The California Live Within Our Means Act.� But supporters of the proposition, such as the Thousand Oaks Westlake Village Regional Chamber of Commerce, feel Prop. 76 is needed to help balance the state’s debt-laden budget. Las Virgenes Superintendent Sandra Smyser said the proposition could “significantly jeopardize� available state funding for public schools. The proposition would dismantle the funding guarantees of Proposition 98 passed by voters in 1988, Smyser said. “Elimination of these guarantees would fundamentally change how schools operate and the services provided to students and our community,� Smyser said. Tony Knight, superintendent of Oak Park Unified School District, said Oak Park schools rely heavily on Prop. 98 money and would be forced to cut many programs, such as music, counseling and school athletics if Prop. 76 passes. “I recognize we have a budget problem in California, but as I’ve said for many years, I don’t think we should be balancing the state budget on the backs of California’s school children,� Knight said. If the governor’s act is passed, the state would have the power to cut funds to schools in the middle of the school year on an ongoing basis.