Proposition Summary

PUBLIC SCHOOLS. PERMANENT CLASS SIZE REDUCTION. PARENT-TEACHER COUNCILS. TEACHER CREDENTIALING. PUPIL SUSPENSION FOR DRUG POSSESSION. CHIEF INSPECTOR'S OFFICE. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Creates permanent fund for reduction of kindergarten through third-grade class size. Funding eligibility requires each school establish governing council of parents/teachers. Council consults with principal, makes all curriculum/expenditure decisions for school; principal responsible for personnel decisions. Pupil performance to be utilized for teacher evaluations. Teachers must pass subject matter examinations for credential and assignment to teach particular subjects. Immediate pupil suspension for drug possession. Creates Office of Chief Inspector of Public Schools to evaluate school quality. Summary of Legislative Analyst's Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact: Creates up to $60 million in new state programs. A significant portion of the annual cost probably would be paid from within the state's existing education budget or be offset by increased fee collections. Potential costs to local school districts in the high tens of millions of dollars annually for new teacher testing requirements and various other provisions. The actual costs to districts could be significantly less, depending on how the state implemented the measure.

Proposition Number

8

Year

1998

Document Type

Proposition

Pass/Fail

Fail

Popular Vote Results

Y: 2913430; A: 36.8; N: 4989466; B: 63.2

Election Type

General Election

Proposition Type

Initiative Statue

For Author

PETE WILSON, Governor, State of California; YVONNE LARSEN, President, California State Board of Education; KIM JACOBSMA, 1996 Teacher of the Year, Mayfair High School

Against Author

LOIS TINSON, President, California Teachers Association; LENNY GOLDBERG, Executive Director, California Tax Reform Association; BOB WELLS, Secretary/Treasurer, Parents, Teachers and Educators for Local Control

Rebuttal Author

STEVE BOCK, California Teacher of the Year, 1997; AL ANGELE, Executive Director, California Organization of Police & Sheriffs; MIKE SPENCE, Chairman, California Taxpayer Protection Committee

Rebuttal Against Author

JIM BARNES, Immediate Past Chairman, California Taxpayers Association; WADIE P. DEDDEH, Retired Democratic State Senator; SUSAN HENRY, 1995-97 Parent-Teacher Association, President, Masuda Middle School

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