Proposition 39 would make it far easier to pass local bond issues to rebuild the state's once flourishing, now troubled, public school system. Currently, school bonds require approval by a two-thirds vote. Under Proposition 39, they'd pass if 55 percent of voters said yes. The polls suggest that vouchers are losing and new spending is winning. A recent survey by the Public Policy Institute of California showed Proposition 38 going down by a 53 to 37 percent margin.
Private polls are similar.
True, the voters could change their minds between now and November, and venture capitalist Tim Draper, the architect of the voucher initiative, has vowed to spend what it takes to win. But if his proposal does lose, it will underscore the core difficulty confronting voucher advocates. Although the voucher proposal will get more attention, the bond initiative may have larger implications. Pro-education forces in California have long wanted to make it easier to pass bond issues to build and improve the state's overcrowded schools. California Gov. Gray Davis's top political honcho, said the two-thirds requirement has killed many a local school bond.