In his Oct. 30 letter, Dick Pottratz writes, “In 1962, our state had the best schools in the country with a state sales tax rate of 3 percent. Our schools are now far from the best, and the state sales tax rate is 6.25 percent …” He then asks, “Where did we go wrong?”

The answer is Proposition 13. It decreased property taxes, resulting in a roughly two-thirds reduction in local school funding. This reduction had to be made up by state funding, resulting in higher state sales and income taxes. Even with that added state revenue, California now consistently ranks in the bottom half for school funding per pupil.

Money for our schools has to come from somewhere. We have two children in elementary school, and the school budget cuts of the past few years have been appalling. All children deserve a sufficiently supported school system. If you choose to vote against Proposition 30 and state funding for schools, then perhaps you would support repealing Proposition 13 in order to restore local funding.