[img]1993|right|Steve Levin||no_popup[/img][Editor’s Note: Dr. Levin of CalTech is a member of the School Board.] In my personal opinion, Prop. 13 is a bad law.
Its stated intention (reducing taxes overall and in particular for seniors who might otherwise be taxed out of their homes) was too far removed from its method (constraining the assessed value of properties to be different from their actual market value).
That is a recipe for unintended consequences. Indeed we have seen many unintended consequences from Prop 13.
One has been the shift in funding from local to state government, and the corresponding reduction in funding of our schools.
There are many other problems with Prop. 13, including inequities in taxes for similar properties, and a host of problems due to the fact that “assessed value” is no longer a true estimate of the market value.
What we have done with Prop. 13 is effectively to put false data into the system, and then scurry around trying to fix all the problems that created.
Numerous taxes and fees have been imposed in the 36 years since Prop. 13 was passed, many of which attempt to solve problems created by Prop. 13.
However, most of the “solutions” I have seen proposed for changing Prop. 13 will only make the problem worse.
In my opinion, what's needed is for the state Legislature to take a comprehensive look at taxes and government funding, and to propose a new proposition for the public to vote on.
This one would repeal Pro. 13, replace it with a better law, and allow for undoing all of the various “fixes” that have been added over the years in response to Prop. 13.
That is definitely not a simple task, and I think it is well beyond the purview of our School Board.
At Tuesday’s School Board meeting, opinion was pretty much unanimous that the schools are underfunded due to Prop. 13, and that the problem is complex.
The School Board had a discussion about the problem, but did not vote on anything or indeed even discuss any specific option.
Several members of the public spoke about it as well. It is likely the School Board will draft a letter to the state Legislature expressing an opinion on this topic. But we have not talked about any specific language.
Dr. Levin may be contacted at steven.levin@ca.rr.com
