I pledge to fight for education at the ballot box!

California's Public Educational System, Kindergarten through College and University has been cut to the bone. Overcrowded classrooms, textbook shortages, teacher and professor layoffs, and reduced or eliminated college class sections have made it impossible for millions of talented students to graduate.

University of California students' tuition fees have been raised by 20 percent, California State University students' tuition fees have been raised by 27 percent, and California Community College students' tuition fees have been raised by 80 percent for the 2011/2012 academic year, and these students face the probability of severe midyear tuition fee increases in the Spring 2012 semester. California's K-12 System is suffering with overcrowded classrooms, instructional material shortages, and teacher layoffs. Californians must act now to save our once renowned Educational System.

Education is the foundation of a strong economy. California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger enjoyed tuition free education at UC Berkeley and Santa Monica College respectively. In the 1960s and 1970s, California's Educational System was the envy of the world. During this time, public higher education was tuition free as mandated by Governor Pat Brown's Master Plan for Higher Education, and California's economy grew to the 5th largest in the world.

Today, California's economy has fallen to 8th position in the world because of a lack of investment in education and technology. China recently invented the world's fastest computer server and produces the largest number of solar panels, while South Korea produces the best electric car batteries using cutting-edge technologies. California's K-12 spending per pupil has dropped to 43rd out of 50 states. College and University graduates are saddled with huge debts. If California is to successfully compete with countries such as China, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and India, California's Educational System must be adequately funded, offering more classes and programs in cutting-edge technology, skilled manufacturing, alternative energy, the humanities, and the arts.

Unbelievably, California has failed to employ a widely used revenue source that can address this crisis in our education. This revenue source is employed by every major oil producing state, except California. This untapped source of revenue is a severance tax on oil and natural gas extracted in California. Since California is the nation's 3rd largest producer of oil, after Texas and Alaska, a 15% oil and natural gas severance tax (midway between that of Texas and Alaska) would raise over $3 billion each year, at 2011 oil prices. This has not been a partisan issue in other states. For example, Governor Sarah Palin, with a Republican legislature, raised Alaska's oil severance tax to 25%, bringing in billions of dollars. Texas' and Alaska's gasoline prices were not affected by their oil severance taxes, and in March 2011, their price per gallon of gasoline was lower than California's. This type of oil and natural gas severance tax is the economic standard in every major oil and natural gas producing state and nation around the world. Closing the California Oil and Natural Gas Severance Tax loophole will help fully fund California's public education once again, making California competitive in the global economy and ensuring a bright future for this generation and succeeding generations of Californians.

http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2011/110648.aspx
http://www.rescueeducationcalifornia.org/