Election Results Mean Changes in Education Funding

On Election Day, 2002, states, cities, and localities around the country voted on propositions, amendments, bonds, and candidates that will affect the future of education funding across the country. The following are some highlights:

Funding:

• Alaska passed Proposition C, a $237 million construction bond to benefit K-12 schools and the University of Alaska

• California passed Proposition 47, a $13.05 billion bond for school facilities projects Colorado voters passed construction bonds in 13 of 18 districts for a total of $816.5 million

• Cook County, IL voters rejected over a dozen school tax increases

• St. Paul, MN passed 4-year, $18 million per year levy

• Tennessee voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that provides for a lottery whose proceeds must pay for certain education programs; the state legislature is expected to establish the lottery

• Voters in the Houston Independent School District passed an $808.6 million construction bond

• All but three Virginia localities passed construction bonds

Programs:

• California passed Proposition 49, which provides $450-million for before- and after-school programs

• Colorado rejected Amendment 31, which would have banned bilingual education

• Florida passed Amendment 9, which puts a cap on class-size, and Amendment 8, which will provide pre-kindergarten to all of the state's four-year-olds

• Massachusetts voters chose English immersion over bilingual classes for English Language Learners

People:

• Janet Napolitano, who pledged to protect education funding, was elected governor of Arizona

• Cleveland voters decided to leave control of education in Mayor Jane Campbell's hands

• Edward Rendell, a supporter of education finance reform, was elected governor of Pennsylvania

• Conservatives Maureen O'Connor and Evelyn Lundberg Stratton were elected to the Ohio Supreme Court, which likely decide DeRolph v. State, Ohio's school funding adequacy case.

Prepared November 7, 2002