Proposition J would create an oversight body to monitor city government spending on programs helping children and young people.
The measure would direct the city to spend tens of millions of dollars of additional funds, on an existing program that support students, by changing the way the city calculates mandated contributions to all children’s programs.
San Francisco Supervisor Myrna Melgar said Prop J would keep track of those programs and money spent from the general fund for the San Francisco Unified School District.
“It works off what the voters already pass about 10 years ago but adds teeth with our budget accountability tools”
Starting in 1991, San Francisco voters first began to set aside dedicated funding from the city’s general fund, in a series of ballot measures to benefit children and young people. Those measures have committed the city to spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year, that can not be reduced without voter approval.
The Public Education Enrichment Fund gave $90 million to SFUSD last year, to pay for arts education. Sports, libraries and other programs.
Prop J would not undo those mandates, but it would give the city greater transparency into how that money is being spent.
Prop J passes with a simple majority vote.
This election brief was reported by San Francisco Public Press reporter Zhe Wu, read the full analysis of Prop J here.