Printed from THE DAILY JOURNAL, 10/19/2004

By Jack Hickey

This November, there are only two school parcel tax measures and one bond measure on the ballot in San Mateo County. Don’t be fooled by this lull in activity.

Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann gave taxpayers predictability regarding the burden which government might place upon their assets and income. Proposition 13 limits the growth of property tax assessment to 2 percent a year. The Gann Expenditure Limit caps expenditures while providing reasonable adjustments for relevant demographic factors. Politicians and bureaucrats have worked feverishly to circumvent the rational limits placed upon them by the electorate.

Proposition 98 bastardized our state Constitution. Proposition 39 lowered the two-thirds vote requirement for bonds to 55 percent. It also increased the cost of charter schools. These schools were intended to provide more efficient education, responsive to local control. They were exempted from onerous restrictions of the education code and allowed to hire teachers of their choosing. They had to pay for facilities out of per-pupil funding. Proposition 39 now provides for their facilities at added burden to property owners. And, a new initiative seeks a 55 percent vote for parcel taxes. I have a better idea.

All programs have merit. Some have more than others. Let the electorate decide, but don’t raise taxes on property owners without a two-thirds vote!

Far too often meritorious programs are not adequately funded by existing revenue sources because elected officials, and their bureaucratic creations, refuse to make the tough choices for fear of losing special interest constituencies. Fine! Let the voters decide!

I propose that all meritorious programs which do not receive adequate funding by our elected officials, from existing revenues limited by Jarvis and Gann, be submitted to the electorate. Upon passage by 55 percent, these meritorious programs would be funded, without a tax increase, from the General Property Tax (1 percent). A vote in excess of two-thirds would qualify the Meritorious Program for support from a tax rate above the 1 percent limit.

I suggest that all bonded indebtedness previously approved with the 55 percent vote , but failed to obtain a two-thirds vote, be secured by property tax revenues collected within the 1 percent Proposition 13 limit. I further suggest that taxes collected by agencies whose charters have expired, currently collected under the 1 percent limit, be allocated to secure bonded indebtedness of agencies within coterminous jurisdictions.

Private vouchers, growing in support, would be the natural, free-market solution for those whose finances are insufficient to affect the transfer. And, it should be remembered that education can occur anywhere. Teachers come in all sizes and shapes and credentials do not guarantee competence. Teachers in retirement are now free to return to their chosen profession without fear of having their Social Security benefits taxed. And, large class sizes do not prevent excellence in learning experiences. One need only read of the Marva Collins story in Chicago to understand what is possible.

Property tax credits should be created to allow taxpayers and parents a choice. Any property tax payer should be allowed to direct taxes, within limits, to students of their choosing with parental support. Parents who can demonstrate that their children are being educated to acceptable levels of proficiency should be afforded property tax credits.

Jack Hickey is the chair of the San Mateo County Libertarian Party.