San Benito County schools in 2012-13 received more than $11.6 million in funding from Proposition 30, a voter-approved measure that temporarily raises sales taxes to help prevent more than $5 billion in education cuts and restore the fiscal health of schools.
The California State Controller’s Office has set up a website that tracks every dollar raised from Prop. 30. Schools and educational districts throughout San Benito County are included on the site.
The site features drop-down menus that allow searches back to the 2007-08 school year. Hollister School District, for example, is projected to receive in $4.9 million in Prop. 30 funding this year, down from $5.9 million in 2012-13. San Benito High School is expected to get $3.1 million, compared with nearly $3.8 million last year. The Aromas-San Juan School District should receive just over $1.1 million — up from $137,520 in 2012-13; and Gavilan College is expected to get just under $3.6 million, compared with $4.1 million the year before.
This so-called “transparency tool” was created to help taxpayers track every dollar raised for K-12 and community college agencies, where it was allocated, how it will be spent, and whether it was used in accordance with the law. Prop. 30 has raised $13.1 billion statewide since Jan. 1, 2012. According to its provisions, revenues raised must be sent directly to schools for classroom expenses, and may not be used for administrative costs. The revenue transfer cannot be suspended or withheld no matter what happens with the state budget. All revenues from this measure are subject to audits at the local level and by the state controller.
Prop. 30 money is put into a State Education Protection Account quarterly then routed to county offices of education, K-12 school districts, charter schools and community college districts.
Data updates on the site will be done annually at least through 2019, the year Proposition 30’s temporary taxes expire.