State Ballot Questions
The following are statewide ballot initiatives and referendums that relate to school funding or other education issues decided by voters last week.
Arizona:
PASSED.Proposition 101. Would
provide a $50,000 tax exemption on land used for agriculture, in trade,
or as business property.
Arkansas:
PASSED.Amendment 1. Would
establish a uniform minimum property-tax rate to benefit schools.
FAILED.Amendment 7. Would allow
for the creation of a state-run lottery and establish the Arkansas
Education Trust Fund, which would be funded with some gaming
proceeds.
California:
PASSED.Proposition 209. Would bar
most affirmative action programs, preventing colleges, universities,
and other government-sponsored programs from discriminating against or
giving preference based on race, sex, or national origin.
Colorado:
FAILED.Amendment 16. Would change
the state board of land commissioners and refocus the mission of the
panel from maximizing income to managing lands for consistent income.
Would also allow schools to tap school-trust-land funds for loans and
bonds.
FAILED.Amendment 17. Would
guarantee parents' authority to control the upbringing, education,
values, and discipline of their children.
Georgia:
PASSED.Amendment 2. Would grant
school districts power to impose a 1 percent sales tax with approval
from local voters.
Hawaii:
PASSED.Amendment 2. Would allow
the state to grant funds under the special school-facilities program
for periods longer than three years.
Idaho:
FAILED.Proposition 1. Would limit
property taxes to 1 percent of assessed value.
Indiana:
PASSED.Question 2. Would allow the
state to invest its public employee retirement funds in stocks and
other securities.
Kentucky:
PASSED.Constitutional amendment.
Would remove from the state constitution a provision that requires
separate schools for "white'' and "colored'' children and allows for a
poll tax.
Michigan:
PASSED.Proposal E. Would allow
gambling in Detroit, and earmark 45 percent of the proceeds that go to
the state to be spent on public schools.
Montana:
FAILED.Amendment 30. Would replace
the state board of education, board of regents, and commissioner of
higher education with one state education department and a single
education commissioner.
Nebraska:
FAILED.Measure 411. Would make
"quality education'' a fundamental right and would make the "thorough
and efficient'' education promised in the state constitution the
paramount duty of the state.
FAILED.Measure 412. Would amend
the constitution to allow limits on property-tax rates. The limits
could be exceeded with local voter approval.
Nevada:
PASSED.Question 11. Would require
a two-thirds majority of the legislature to increase taxes.
FAILED.Question 16. Would require
the legislature to pass any tax increase twice, with at least 10 days
between the votes.
New Mexico:
PASSED.Amendment 2: Would
authorize school districts to incur a debt without an election for the
lease-purchase of technology equipment/
North Carolina:
PASSED.Bond issue. Would provide
$1.8 billion for public school capital improvements.
Ohio:
FAILED.Issue 1. Would establish a
state lottery, with proceeds directed by the legislature to elementary,
secondary, vocational, and special education.
Oklahoma:
PASSED.Question 671. Would allow
districts to contract with superintendents for more than one year but
not more than three years.
Oregon:
PASSED.Measure 30. Would require
the legislature to pay local governments for the cost of new
state-mandated programs or increased levels of service.
TOO CLOSE TO CALL.Measure 33.
Would prohibit state lawmakers from amending for five years any law
passed by referendum.
FAILED.Measure 42. Would require
annual testing of all students in grades 4-12.
TOO CLOSE TO CALL.Measure 47.
Would limit property-tax increases to no more than 3 percent each
year.
South Dakota:
PASSED.Amendment A. Would grant
the state investment council authority to invest money from the
permanent school fund and other school funds.
PASSED.Amendment B. Would require
a two-thirds majority of the legislature to increase taxes.
Utah:
PASSED.Proposition 4. Would give
the state authority to guarantee the debt of school districts.
PASSED.Proposition 5. Would expand
revenue sources to the state school fund to include bequests,
donations, and other assets.
PASSED.Proposition 6. Would define
the term "public education system'' for the purposes of granting
interest from the state school fund and the state's uniform school
fund.
Washington:
FAILED.Initiative 173. Would
provide students born after Sept. 1, 1989, with scholarship vouchers to
use at any eligible public or private school. Vouchers would be
required to equal 55 percent of per-pupil spending in the previous
school year.
FAILED.Initiative 177. Would
require district elections on whether to convert to new "renewed''
districts that could start independent public schools with new
governing boards and no state rules regarding teachers' unions or
teacher certification.
Vol. 16, Issue 11
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