Letter to the Editor: Thanks to Santa Monicans for Voting Yes on Props Y, YY

The following letter to the editor was submitted to Santa Monica Patch on Friday.

While it is no April Fools' Day joke that Proposition Y revenues , we wish it were that Sacramento leaders this week threw in the towel on putting a statewide tax extension ballot measure before the voters of California.

When we campaigned for Propositions Y and YY, we knew there was a chance that the state’s 1 percent portion of the sales tax that was imposed as an emergency state revenue source two years ago would expire on Jun. 30. Now it looks like it will expire and our sales tax will actually go down, even with Prop. Y.

But is that a good thing? Even with locally approved funding, our schools may lose between $3.6 and $11 million in funding for the coming school year because of the state cuts. Can you imagine where we would be without Props Y and YY?

Thank you, voters of Santa Monica, for being wise enough to understand that it is well worth the investment to put your tax dollars toward a quality education for this generation of youth. Such cognizance is certainly the opposite of April Fools!

Shari Davis and Tom Larmore, Yes on Y+YY Co-Chairs; Rebecca Kennerly, Community for Excellent Public Schools Chair

This letter has been edited.