Santa Barbara County Supervisor Tom Urbanski recalls catching mono when he taught in one. School bond opponents are aware of the critical need, it's just that they disagree that property taxes are the way to pay for it, no matter how small the increment. But to opponents like Paul Rowland, there seems to be no end to governmental bureaucracy and its appetite for money. They make all property owners sound like Donald Trump or Bill Gates. This is simply untrue.
Many homeowners are on fixed incomes or work two or three jobs.
These people cannot afford to pay higher taxes. The passage of Proposition 1A in 1998 changed the way in which new school construction is financed, making it dependent on the passage of bonds. Prior to Prop.1A, the entire cost of new school construction and all of the costs of modernization of older schools were paid for by the state. By 1998, there was such a huge backlog that advocates for education began looking for another solution. Modernization of existing schools was to be financed on an 80-20 basis, with the state assuming 80 percent of the cost and school districts assuming 20 percent.