California has the eighth largest economy in the world and well over 37 million residents (Legislative Analyst’s Office, 2007).  The state relies on taxes to fund public services that it provides to its individuals and businesses.  The state and local governments raise over $200 billion annually of which 60 percent of this comes from taxes (Legislative Analyst’s Office, 2007).  Some taxes from which California gathers revenue are: property, income, sales, excise, and lottery taxes. Sales tax is a levy imposed on the selling of certain goods and services usually at the retail level.  Property tax is a levy against the owner of real or personal property for individuals or businesses.  Property taxes were the first kind of school taxes, and they still constitute almost the complete local tax revenue for schools.  An excise tax is imposed by the government within the primary purpose of helping to regulate or control a specific activity or practice not deemed to be in the public interest.  An example would be a tax on tobacco and alcohol. Lottery tax is a levy on those who play the lottery or gaming system of a certain state. Income tax is a levy on the overall income of an individual or family.

     Although there is not a perfect tax system where individuals can agree on fairness and equity, most public finance authorities agree on certain basic principles and theories of taxation for a viable tax system at any level of government: equity or fairness, adequacy, low costs of collection, impact/incidence, neutrality, and predictability, and neutrality (Brimley et al., 2016).  Equity and Ability to pay refers to whether a tax system is fair on how it treats ALL individuals (rich or poor).  Adequacy of yield refers to the importance of taxes being applied to productive sources to maintain the extensive services of government.  Cost of collection refers to the need for low collection and administrative costs for the government and the individual.  Predictability refers to whether a tax is consistent or dependable.  This assurance allows governments to forecast future income and expenditures with some accuracy.  Finally, neutrality focuses on regulating higher taxes to avoid interference with consumerism which affects the economy.

Financing Education

The table above lists five characteristics of a viable tax system along with five types of taxes.  The tax is analyzed based on the characteristics with a “yes” or “no”.

Based on the analysis, the best tax for education is personal income tax. This tax produces a substantial yield and has a predictability if the economy is good.  When the economy is good, established incomes allow governments to forecast future incomes and expenditures with accuracy.  The lottery tax ranked the lowest in my analysis. This is because it has a low yield., high cost of collection, and lacks predictability.  The lack of predictability is based on the state of the economy and the dependency of players to support the revenue.

References

Brimley, V., Verstegen, D. A., & Garfield, R. R. (2016). Financing education in a climate of change. Boston: Pearson.

Legislative Analyst’s Office (2007). California’s tax system: A primer. Retrieved from https://lao.ca.gov/2007/tax_primer/tax_primer_040907.aspx

HISTORY

On June 6, 1978, almost 2/3 of California’s voters passed Proposition 13, to reduce property taxes by almost 57% (HJTA, 2018).  The reason for this initiative was in response to out of control property taxes.  For some individuals, their property taxes doubled in just one year.  Prop 13 was a grassroots movement led by Howard Jarvis.  The proposition decreased property taxes by assessing values at their 1976 value and restricted annual increases of assessed value of real property to an inflation factor, not to exceed two percent per year.  The initiative also prohibited reassessment of a new base year value only in cases of change of ownership, or completion of new construction.  Proposition 13 allowed California taxes to be limited and predictable.

Relevance to Education

Much blame has been placed on Proposition 13 on the decline in school funding.   The cost per pupil during 1978 was 14^th overall and started to decline (KPBS News, 2010).  Unfortunately, it was a combination of events including Proposition 13 which led to the decline of school funding in California.  Proposition merely put a cap on the money given to schools.  For example, a school district with a $9 million budget prior to Proposition 13 would have to work with a $3 million budget with a majority of the money coming from the state.

Effect on Equity and Adequacy

A considerable problem with Prop 13 is that it makes schools rely on the state for funding and if they are not getting enough from income and sales tax, and they have a recession with high unemployment then they have less money to give to schools. This problem causes school districts to make decisions based on their needs which affect the overall equity and adequacy of education and programs they provide for students.

https://youtu.be/dacSb43UEEA

Concordia University Irvine Online (2018) California’s fiscal history in education: Adequacy v.s. Equality: Video Module. Retrieved from http://resources.cui.edu/courses/edua558/modules/2/player.html

HJTA (2018). Proposition 13: A look back. Retrieved from https://www.hjta.org/propositions/proposition-13/proposition-13-look-back/

KBPS News (2010, March 26). Prop 13’s impact on schools. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dacSb43UEEA&feature=youtu.be

Rest and Relaxation are vital for people, and especially for those who serve the public, like educators, it is essential to find balance in one’s life.  For me, I do many things to keep myself occupied and to recharge my passion as an educator.  I accomplish this goal by focusing on faith, family, and friends (collecting). 

FAITH

Church and the relationship I have with Jesus Christ is significant to me.  My grandmother Kathy would take my sister and me to her Baptist church whenever she could while I was growing up.  During my childhood and teen years, I felt I was more spiritual in my beliefs and acknowledged a higher power, but did not regularly attend church service.  It wasn’t until I met my wife Sandra, a Protestant, that I started to change my perspective on life and choose to have a relationship with God.  In 2012, my wife was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and my faith in God increased as He watched over our family and took care of us.  All of these moments and how I overcame obstacles in my life led me to make the decision to get baptized in 2016.  I appreciate all the gifts He has given me and feel very fortunate to attend a faith-based college such as Concordia University Irvine with such wonderful people. 

FAMILY

My family is everything to me.  I suggest that when you have extra time spend it with the people you love.  Growing up, my parents had me at a young age.  The struggles of everyday life were difficult at times with a tight budget, but my parents did the best they could with what they had.  Throughout my life, I have had a hard time identifying with others because of my multiracial ethnicity. Having a father who is Danish and a mother who is Mexican and Filipino, I know a lot of my history but never really felt connected to others because of being mixed. Over the years, I have learned to appreciate who I am and focus on being the best PERSON I can be.  I was fortunate to have a sister, Cassie, who has been supportive in my life and made me an uncle to three awesome nephews.  I also have a brother-in-law, Caesar, who has been great to me and given me the brother that I never had.  My wife Sandra is a kindergarten teacher and means the world to me.  She is multiracial, Spanish and German, like me and has many ideas and perspectives on the world similar to mine.  My daughter, Alexandra, is my heart and such a talented and sweet little girl.  We do many things together (eat dinner, watch T.V., and go on vacations) to maintain that bond that I lacked as a child. It is essential to have a family or supportive unit in your life to keep things in perspective.

Friends

It is important to have friends and hobbies to give yourself that time to reboot and recharge as a person.  I keep myself busy with collecting and talking with friends in the hobby.  As an introvert, I tend to be on the quiet side and mostly listen to others. As an adult, I have come to terms with my nerdiness and find enjoyment in learning about antiques.  I collect antique baseball gloves and 1930’s Mickey Mouse plushes.  Baseball gloves and sports equipment have always been a passion of mine ever since playing in high school and college baseball.  The collecting of gloves has connected me with some terrific people (nerds like myself).  I even have a website dedicated to collecting and my hobby https://rickybulldog.wixsite.com/mysite , which has been fun and exciting to create.  My fascination with Mickey Mouse stems from the brilliant mind of Walt Disney.  The idea/concept that so much innovation and imagination came from a simple sketch is impressive to me.

In partnership with National Compadres Network, the Coachella Valley Unified School District is offering the EL JOVEN NOBLE (The Noble Youth) program. El JOVEN NOBLE is a youth development, support, and leadership enhancement program developed in 1996 that provides a process and a vehicle for continued “rites of passage” development of youths ages 10-24. Starting in December/January, the program will be led by me and offered at the end of the day on Fridays for 13 weeks. Students will participate in discussions/circles and learn the importance of being a noble youth through classroom activities. The topics covered will include:

• Purpose of the program/ importance of trust and our credible word of PALABRA
• Characteristics of a Noble youth
• Our culture and identity and being a champion for your people
• Understanding Male Development
• Relationships with Peers
• Handling difficult times/Positive life choices
• Our purpose and gratitude to others
• Celebration/Graduation

I’m excited to work with some of the 5^th and 6^th-grade young men at Las Palmitas. I am grateful to share my story and provide advice to help these young men as well as listen to their stories and be a support system for one another. Here is a video of the work of the National Compadres Network and the resourcefulness of circles/circulos.

On Saturday, November 3rd, a group of students, staff members, and parents took in a beautiful morning to clean up the Las Palmitas campus. The team tackled many tasks like trash pick up, painting, window washing, power washing, and finished with a barbecue lunch. It was an exciting event and a great way to strengthen the school community. As principal, Mike Williams stated, “The school is over 15 years old, but I make it a habit of schedule these events to maintain the facilities and provide an opportunity for families and students to contribute to our fantastic school community.

Mr. Jerry Tello (maestro) shares a story with the group.

Participants in a Circulo

This week I had the fortunate opportunity to experience a three-day training taught by Mr. Jerry Tello and the members of the National Compadres Network. The days were filled with circulos, fellowship, activities, and knowledge to incorporate El Joven Noble for young men in the Coachella Valley Unified School District. In the next few weeks another teacher and I will be implementing the 12 session lessons (El Joven Noble and Xinachtli) with students at our school site.

About the curriculum

Thanks for joining me! Please feel free to follow my blog and Twitter account @heymistera to learn and share ideas to help our students become life-long learners.

My name is Ricky Anderson and I am an assistant administrator in the Coachella Valley Unified School District. Over the summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Washington D.C. with my fellow doctoral classmates (Irvine 9) from Concordia University Irvine. The overall experience was fantastic and I learned so much about educational policy and had the chance to go to the Department of Education!

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10