Yes on Proposition G
Student Success Fund
What is it?
Proposition G is a Charter Amendment introduced by the Board of Supervisors which will create a new fund (initially $11 million, growing to $60 million by 2037) that will be used for grants intended to support academic achievement and social & emotional wellness of students. This will be funded by appropriating money from the Educational Revenue Augmentation Funds (ERAF) account, which contains extra money raised from property taxes that is not directly allocated to school funding.
Fiscal impacts
Prop G will have a relatively large impact on the cost of government in San Francisco, but only because it will reallocate money away from the General Fund and toward schools. Notably, this is not a new tax, it is just redirecting existing funds.
Why is this on the ballot?
This is a City Charter amendment. All charter amendments must be approved by a 50% + 1 majority.
- Sponsor: Hillary Ronen
- Co-Sponsors: Supervisors Myrna Melgar, Shamann Walton, Ahsha Safaí, Gordon Mar, Dean Preston, Rafael Mandelman, Matt Dorsey, and Catherine Stefani
- Placed on ballot by: Unanimously by the Board of Supervisors
Why vote Yes?
Prop G is imperfect because of the extra bureaucratic overhead it introduces, but it is in service of good outcomes: rather than continuing the status quo where politicians fight over how to spend ERAF funds, Prop G mandates that at least some of that money be reinvested back into schools.
Educational Revenue Augmentation Funds (ERAF) are extra money raised from property taxes which is not directly allocated to school funding. This law was created in the 1990s to give cities some flexibility over school budget spending, but which has led to yearly political fights about sending extra money to schools or to other local city departments. GrowSF knows that funding isn't the only thing that matters for school performance, but more money certainly helps!
Prop G money may be used to pay for grants from the City to eligible schools in SFUSD. These grants will primarily be focused on academic achievement and the emotional wellness of students — including nurses, tutors, math specialists, and school psychologists. Students can only achieve to the best of their ability when they are safe, healthy, and receive the academic support they need. GrowSF believes in treating students as whole people, and especially in assisting students that come from disadvantaged or unstable homes.
We believe that Prop G will, on net, improve student academic performance.