Schools and Communities First Campaign Seeks Funding for Schools

Classroom
Photo by Feliphe Schiarolli on Unsplash

With more than 15 years of experience working in the field of education, Christopher Bianco Arellano is the executive director of Tri-City Educators in Los Angeles. Christopher B. Arellano regularly follows important news affecting California's educational system, including the recent launch of the Schools and Communities First campaign, which is supported by the California Teachers Association.

The Schools and Communities First campaign kicked off in October 2019, and it seeks to reform property tax legislation by revising California’s Proposition 13. The proposition was established in 1978, and it has since become controversial for allowing what the California Teachers Association called in a recent press release “commercial property tax loopholes.” If the campaign is successful, it would remove property tax caps on industrial and commercial property. It would not lift caps for residences. The campaign also aims to revise Proposition 13 in order to ensure fair funding for all school districts and protect small businesses from unfair property tax practices. The campaign could lead to $6.5 billion in annual funding for local governments and $4.5 billion for community colleges and K-12 schools.