North County Coastal Times, March 8, 2006

CARLSBAD ---- A proposed $50 parcel tax on nearly every California property to raise money for education drew fire Tuesday from taxpayer groups as a frontal assault on Prop. 13 that would open the floodgates to escalating property taxes.

The Classroom Learning and Accountability Act would levy an annual $50 flat tax on almost every California property, raising about $500 million for smaller class sizes, school safety, textbooks, school modernization and state-level data collection.

Disabled people and senior citizens older than 65 would be exempt from the tax.

The initiative would require changes to the state Constitution and the repeal of some parts of Proposition 13, the landmark 1978 legislation that rolled back property taxes across the state.

Unlike local parcel tax initiatives that require two-thirds voter approval, this statewide parcel tax would require only a simple majority.

Backers of the constitutional initiative, including state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, said Monday that the initiative could raise a needed $500 million for public schools throughout California each year.

But Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association ---- named after the creator of the taxpayer revolt measure in 1978 ---- blasted the initiative Tuesday as an attempt to circumvent the protections put in place by Prop. 13.

"We will take a lead in opposing this initiative," Coupal said. "This constitutes the first attempt at a statewide property tax increase since Prop. 13, and it would impose a flat tax on every parcel in California."

The parcel tax would allow school districts to use the money for three major purposes ---- smaller class sizes ($225 million), textbook purchases ($100 million) and school safety ($100 million) ---- according to the initiative filed with the state attorney general's office.

Lance Izumi of the Pacific Research Institute said Tuesday that his organization would also oppose the initiative, adding that some studies showed that reduced class sizes have no appreciable effect on student performance.

"It strikes me as throwing good money after bad," said Izumi, director of education studies at the conservative public policy think tank in San Francisco. "And class-size reduction is just the tip of the iceberg in programs not giving California taxpayers more bang for their buck."

Coupal said the initiative is being financed by Reed Hastings, the wealthy founder of the mail-order DVD organization called NetFlix. Coupal said Hastings is part of a cadre of wealthy philanthropists that pumped $60 million into two recent proposition races, including Proposition 39. Approved by voters in 2000, Prop. 39 lowered the percentage of votes required for passage of a general obligation bond from 66 percent to 55 percent, making it easier to pass local bonds.

Christopher Cabaldon, a key organizer of the initiative, confirmed Hastings' involvement. Hastings could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

During his talk Monday to Solana Beach educators, O'Connell said he supported the flat-rate $50 property tax, adding that if voters liked the educational results, they may be more likely to approve future property-tax increases for education.

That idea scares Coupal.

"Proponents have openly admitted they would try to raise taxes in subsequent years in $50 increments," he said. "This will prove a temptation for future efforts, not only for schools but for whatever the state needs."

Coupal also questioned the "regressive" nature of the tax, which means that rich and poor would pay the same rate, noting that the owner of a mansion would be charged the same fee as the owner of a modest home living on a fixed income.

While promoting the initiative to school district administrators Monday in Solana Beach, O'Connell conceded the measure was "regressive" and "not without controversy."

"Even its supporters acknowledge that it is horribly regressive," Coupal said.

Coupal said more money is not the answer.

"Education is getting sufficient revenues," he said. "It's merely a question of spending it wisely."