Proposal

Proposition 30 is a very large and controversial topic concerning the upcoming election, especially considering the current financial situation California is in. There is no dispute that California’s educational system is in dire need of attention. Funding for the schools has been severely cut in the last few years and this trend will only continue to increase in this next year’s budget. All Californians are affected by the educational system in some form, and if we don’t act to protect what we have left and rebuild what we’ve lost of the once-great school system, this state will become a tragic failure of what the American Dream promised.

The logical reasoning that I will use in my op-ed in favor of Proposition 30 is that ultimately, the state needs money, especially when considering education. If this proposition doesn’t go through, Kindergarten through 12^th grade and community colleges will lose $5.35 billion in funding. This is a lot more expensive than the quarter cent sales tax raise for four years that is being proposed by the state government. This sales tax raise would amount to paying 1 penny extra on a $4 hamburger. The numbers speak for themselves.

The reader effect would hopefully be to see the difference between the numbers and understand that this proposition really is affordable and will hardly affect anyone financially in terms of what good it will be doing for the educational system.

My next strategy will be to explain that I am a full time student at Cabrillo College which is one of California’s many community colleges that is supported mainly on state funding. I have been attending Cabrillo since Fall of 2010, and although I have not fully experienced the rise of tuition in its full extent, I have experienced the tuition rising from $26 per unit when I first started to $46 per unit in Fall 2012. I chose to come to a community college in the first place because of the affordability and accessibility. This is becoming less and less true today.

I hope the reader effect for this section will be to understand that I am experiencing California’s degrading educational system first-hand. I know how detrimental it is because I live it every day that I go to school. I want the reader to see that I am credible on this subject.

The final strategy will be to explain that I do understand why someone would disagree with Proposition 30. I understand that the current condition the state government is in is not exactly the most trustworthy and honest cause to support with taxpayer’s money. I understand that taxes are annoying or even scary. I understand that the proposition wasn’t exactly written in a manner that explicitly states where the taxpayer’s money will go. I understand all the oppositions to this proposition, but I also understand that this is California’s only hope when it comes to the educational system. If this proposition fails, there will be a series of “trigger cuts” made to the state’s budget. With these “trigger cuts”, schools will be the most affected by far, but so many other areas of funding will be removed as well, like police, fire, the UC and CSU systems, and so much more.

I would like to see the reader effect for this section be a real understanding for both the pros and cons of this proposition as well as the dire state California is in and how much worse it is about to get if Prop 30 does not pass.