CALIFORNIA FOCUS
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012, OR THEREAFTER
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012, OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
“PARK-LIKE PARTNERSHIPS PROBABLY CAN’T HELP OTHER
SERVICES”
The many thousands who regularly use
the state’s large and varied park system were among the most distraught of
Californians when legislators and Gov. Jerry Brown last year imposed cuts and
closures on the system, with 70 parks scheduled for shuttering early this
summer.
Some of those closures will come right
on schedule, but not all. Where parks fended off mothballing, it’s been in
large part because of rare partnerships riding to the rescue, some involving
cities and other government agencies, others depending on private foundations
and donors.
Among the saved parks is the
Colusa-Sacramento River State Recreation Area, spared the shutdown ax for at
least five years by a new operating agreement with the city of Colusa. The
National Park Service stepped in to keep three Northern California parks open
at least through this year, including Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park and
the Tomales Bay and Samuel P. Taylor parks adjacent to Pt. Reyes National
Seashore.
The Los Encinos State Historic Park in
the San Fernando Valley portion of Los Angeles survives for at least a year
because of an anonymous gift and the Henry W. Coe State Park northeast of
Gilroy stays open three years because the private, nonprofit Coe Park
Preservation Fund will kick in $300,000 per year.
One salient point stands out as these
state parks (and there will likely be more such arrangements before the
closures are due to occur) are spared from the budget ax that’s killing many curriculum
offerings and increasing class sizes in schools from kindergarten to the
college level, the same ax that threatens adult day care centers and the
staffing of police and fire departments:
The state park system took a cut of
$22 million in the latest budget. Compared with the $1.4 billion that elementary
and high schools have lost in the past two years, it’s a mere drop in the
bucket. A sum like that has a big impact in parks mostly because the largest
expense by far in parks usually comes when land is acquired. Money for park
administration, where staff is spread thinly and there are relatively few
maintenance and capital expenses, is just not as big as in other state
programs. So grants from cities and foundations that amount to thousands of
dollars – not millions – can have an impact.
But when it comes to schools and
social services, much more intensively staffed, grants of that size would be a
drop in the bucket. It would take many millions to make restorations similar to
what the donations are doing for some parks.
Yes, cities in many parts of
California pitch millions in for their local schools, and it makes a difference
when they do that. Municipal money, for example, is one reason schools in
cities like Palo Alto and Beverly Hills perform far above average. Private
foundations also help out in some places.
But there are no such foundations to
support in-home health care for the frail elderly. As a result, the cuts made
last year may send thousands of them to nursing homes, where their care will
cost government more in the long run, while also putting experienced caregivers
out of work.
The same for prisons, where shifts of
low-risk inmates to county jails and then to parole has cut budgets by more
than $2 billion over the past two years. Don’t expect any foundations, private
donors or nearby cities to step up with money to help restore those cuts. One
reason: Prison users (read: convicts) don’t contribute to the local economy the
way visitors to state parks often do when they buy lodging, food, souvenirs,
gasoline and other services.
There is no doubt the idea of state
park partnerships – first proposed 15 months ago by Republican state Sen. Sam
Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo – is working well for at least 10 percent to 15
percent of the parks chosen for closure.
It’s an idea that can work when
relatively little money is needed to keep a park or program going, but of
little or no use in helping out the big-money services that eat up most
California tax dollars.
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Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,” is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. Read more Elias columns at www.californiafocus.net.
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,” is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. Read more Elias columns at www.californiafocus.net.
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