In a clear threat to the voters of California, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District implicitly warned that if either Propositions 30 or 38 aren’t passed, the children of the city will miss the last two months of the school year. John Deasy, the superintendent, said:

“Our school year will have to be reduced to 160 days right off the bat.  I do not have answers to the question as to how are we going to transport students who have the legal right to school in Special Education. That won’t be funded. I do not have answers to the question as to how a student will take their AP exam because LAUSD won’t be open. Most everything as we know it will stop and go backwards.”   

Deasy’s threat that the schools will close unless one of the propositions is passed was made in a roundabout manner; he said the situation would become clearer after Election Day.

Both propositions are tax-raisers, which seems to be the only way California does business these days, since the state’s exorbitant taxes have driven businesses to relocate.

Prop 30, aimed at the wealthier class, is the measure pushed by Governor Jerry Brown. It would raise the sales tax by a quarter of a cent and hike the income tax by up to 3 percentage points on those who make more than $250,000 a year. Prop 38 is more evenly distributed; it would raise the income tax by 0.4 to 2.2 percentage points, depending on how much you earn.