"California is in an enormous financial bind. The deep recession has sent state revenue plunging.
Our leaders have addressed this fiscal migraine in two ways. In February, the Legislature adopted the largest single tax hike of any state in U.S. history, raising income and sales taxes and the annual vehicle registration fee and reducing the tax credit for dependents. It also forced cuts in virtually every area of government – including for public schools, which depend on state funding.
But in a May special election, state voters signaled loudly and clearly that they were against further tax hikes. Among the measures they decisively rejected was one guaranteeing billions of dollars would be sent to public schools in the future when state revenue rebounded.
The election results led to renewed wrangling over the budget – and an acceptance by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican lawmakers and a surprising number of their Democratic colleagues that spending cuts were how the public wanted to deal with red ink. In July, this understanding – along with a few of the usual gimmicks – led to a revised budget with a new round of cuts for schools."
