Lawsuit targets CSU Prop. 30 campaign

October 18, 2012

Is there a concerted but perhaps illegal effort afoot to urge California university students to vote for Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax initiative, Proposition 30, using tax dollars? (Sacramento Bee)

Howard Jarvis’ Taxpayers Association thinks so. The Sacramento-based group announced today that it is filing a lawsuit in Monterey Superior Court against California State University, Monterey Bay, alleging that tax-funded resources were improperly utilized to advocate student support of the tax measure.

The Jarvis group’s lawyers point to evidence such as emails, citing one that suggested students would have fewer classes available, all with higher fees, if the measure should fail.

Plans by the state call for a reduction of $250 million in CSU funding if Prop. 30 sinks.

“This campaign mailing violates the constitutional rights of taxpayers and students whose tax dollars and student fees are being misused to promote a political cause which they do not support,” said a statement from Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.


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Didn’t our president make education a priority? I heard him make a big deal about that last Tuesday.This is happening on Obama’s watch. Another empty chair I suppose.


Education has not been a priority in the University system for quite some time (decades). Their priority is and always has been money. Right or wrong, that’s just the simple truth of it.


Nothing wrong with telling the students and their parents about reality. As the other two posters have pointed out, if the measure doesn’t pass, they are going to lay off teachers and reduce classes. It isn’t rocket science.


Reducing administrative expenses and overhead would be nice, bit it ain’t going to happen., The only one “hurt” but this will be students and maybe to some degree teachers.


If anyone has some ideas about how to reduce administrative and staff costs dramatically without impacting instruction, I’d sure like to hear about it!


Here’s an idea: the growth of the administration has grown faster than the number of students attending schools. Roll back the percentage of state money that can be spent on the admin in any given school to 1990 levels. This would take care of adminstrative bloat in both size and salaries.


Here’s a better idea. Privatize the whole darned thing. Then you won’t have to worry about all the inside logistics of it, just whether it pleases you as a consumer.


What do you want to bet that if they can blackmail us for more money (again) that another new building will go up?


Come on, it is SHAKEDOWN 101: Threaten to eliminate teachers and students when shaking us down for money.


(or cops, or firefighters, or parks, or whatever the current “valuable asset” appears to be to the shakedown victims)


It’s worse than you realize. Prop 30 is a win-win for acdemic administrators. If it passes, they get a big pile of money to do whatever they want with. If it does not pass, they’ll fire teachers. Keep in mind that these are schools we’re talking about: when you think of a school, you probably think of teachers teaching students. It’s not that way any more. Schools are little kingdoms, poorly run by overpaid academic administrators. These bean counters have turned schools into businesses: every decision is a business decision; quality of education is never considered. Before Prop 30 gets my vote, I want to hear what the administrators are going to do differently. No adminstrator is ever laid off; they get shifted around. These same people never hesitate to lay off teachers.


This is happening all over the State. Brown has been to UCLA telling the students/staff no tuition hike if they vote for PROP 30. Hope they read the bottom line, because he promised no hike for the SCHOOL YEAT 2014 ONLY. These people are evil. Local schools are sending stuff home with the students telling the parents how important this tax and what will happen to their children if the tax is not passed. BUNK ALL THIS STUFF, VOTE NO, VOTE NO, VOTE NO! Go to Ballotpedia, read where this proposition will change the State Constitition and see where the money is really going – it’s plain and simple: SCHOOLS and PUBLIC SAFTEY. Then it describes Pulic Safety as Court support staff, prisons, probation, child advocacy groups, probation, local law enforcement. This has nothing to do with children’s education and everything to do with union paybacks, support for the deficit in PERS and Teachers Pension funds (unfunded), more money for the legislators to spend and waste. READ BALLOTPEDIA – PROP 30 or any of the others!