Proposition 39: Investing in California's Future

Californians passed Proposition with a decisive 60/40 vote last November, thereby closing a corporate tax loophole and raising a projected $1.1 Billion per year for the state.  For the next five years, half of that money will go to energy efficiency and clean energy projects in public buildings, and Next Generation believes that public school modernization is the best investment.  This white paper lays out the research behind that conclusion. As the introduction states:

"California serves over 6.2 million students each year, one out of eight students in the nation. These students are housed in over 10,000 schools in which over 70 percent of school buildings are over 25 years old. One-third of classrooms in the state are held in portable or modular buildings, many of which are desperately in need of maintenance and energy retrofitting, and some of which are actually toxic because of the chemicals they contain.

As we discuss in this paper, investing in more efficient school infrastructure will allow our school districts to save millions on energy expenses and to redirect those savings to critical operations needs; create good jobs for Californians in the hard-hit construction and manufacturing sectors; and provide healthy learning environments for our students, school faculty, and staff."

 

Read the Press Release »