ORANGE COUNTY VOICES ON MEASURE R : $50 a Year Is a Small Price to Pay to Save Our Schools

Two December dates will never be forgotten, at least in Orange County.

Dec. 7, 1941, became known as a day of infamy in the annals of our nation; Dec. 6, 1994, will be remembered as the day Orange County sank into a black hole deeper than anyone could ever imagine. As a nation, we pulled together and overcame the 1941 attack on our country. By pulling together, the county of Orange, including the schools, will overcome the financial disaster of 1994.

The plan is in motion; if it plays out as anticipated, the schools will survive. If the plan falls apart, many of our 28 school districts will be hard-pressed to keep their doors open. We cannot operate if we cannot meet payrolls.

So where are we? The comprehensive settlement agreement was accepted by the Bankruptcy Court judge on May 2, and approximately 76% of the schools’ money has been received and, by law, was deposited in the county treasury. The next 14% is in the form of “good as gold” recovery notes, redeemable in cash this month. The remaining 10%--$100 million--is dependent on the solutions proposed and actions taken by the Board of Supervisors. The voters on June 27 are the other key decision-makers. Both of those entities hold the answers to our future.

I took an oath to serve the children and their schools, and the residents of Orange County, to the best of my ability. In my opinion, the best service to all is to support the half-cent sales tax.

Financial experts tell me that the economic hole is so great that we must have the sales tax increase if we ever hope to restore Orange County to the greatness we once knew. Our schools were No. 1 in California; where we will bottom out under the financial debacle is anyone’s guess. The impact of that downward spiral on our business and industry, on real estate and every other aspect of what made Orange County the envy of the nation is inestimable but nonetheless tragic.

To even consider trading the glory that was Orange County for a dismal future at a cost of $50 a year is absurd.

The 10-year tax proposal will cost the average family about $500 over a decade. Without the sales tax to pay the schools the remaining $100 million, bonded indebtedness interest rates will soar. Without question, we will pay for the errors of omission and commission, regardless of who was at fault. Placing blame must be resolved at another time and place.

But pay we will. The black hole is too deep to expect a Band-Aid solution.

I have confidence in the voters to do the right thing, as irritating as a half-cent sales tax increase may be. To me, educating the next generation is the single most important legacy we can leave--long after we have a need for the $50.