Prop13, 98 Serrano vs. Priest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Prop13, 98 Serrano vs. Priest - Essay Example Serrano vs. Priest ruling called for an equalization of the rates at which the property was taxed and the expenditure incurred per pupil. Serrano vs. Priest highlighted the pressing educational issues of its times like the impact of the class differences and racial discrimination on the fundamentality of public education (Regalia). This ruling came down heavily on the instances of tax-base disparities translating into inequities in the educational expenditures per pupil in different neighborhoods (Regalia). There is no denying the fact that pragmatically speaking, this ruling has failed to achieve its objectives. However, this decision certainly laid down the fundamental principles that were to guide the quest for educational equity in the state. Precisely speaking, it invalidated the educational inequities emanating from class and race differences and ushered in the principle of justice in the education system. Prop 13 is primarily a tax law that was voted on and passed by nearly 65 percent of the voters in California in 1978. Prop 13 reduced the tax accruals to the state by 57 percent (authorSTREAM). This directly translated into a dire shrinkage in the tax revenues accessible to the school districts. Prop 13 reverted the property assessments back to the 1976 values and capped at no more then 1 percent of the property value (authorSTREAM). It set a limit on the valuation of property to be 2 percent per year, unless a property was sold (authorSTREAM). In case a property was sold, it was to be reassessed at its value at the time when it was sold, tagged to a 2 percent tax cap (authorSTREAM). Prop 13 required all the state taxes to be ratified by a two-thirds majority in the legislature and all the local taxes by a two-thirds majority of the people (authorSTREAM). Prop 13 jeopardized the education system in California by subjecting it to neo liberalist economic values and relatively conservative social