Llewellyn Boyle: Prop 55 will save our schools, no matter what columnist says

Re “How many new taxes will state approve?” (Page 3B, Sept. 22): I used to think that your occasional columnist, grumpy ’ol Dan Walters, just needed a hug. Apparently, he could also use a research assistant.

In his Thursday column, Walters assailed Proposition 55. This proposition calls for a continuation of a modest tax on the wealthiest Californians (whose family incomes exceed $500,000 per year). This assessment was enacted by Californians in 2012 as Proposition 30, and it helped our public schools to recover from the recession of 2007-08. This measure enabled schools to rehire laid-off teachers, reduce class sizes, reinstitute essential programs such as art, music, vocational education, after-school programs and more.

It is essential to understand that Prop 55 calls for no new taxes. It proposes a continuation of a modest tax on those who, even after four years of paying the increase are, by any reasonable assessment, still nicely rich! It allows one of California’s foundational institutions to function with suitable support. Simply put, Proposition 55 enables our schools to continue to operate effectively. A failure to pass it would most likely result in a return to layoffs, cancellations of critical programs, etc. We cannot put our schools at such a risk.

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Llewellyn Boyle: Prop 55 will save our schools, no matter what columnist says."