Organizers of an initiative petition to give students $14,000 each to attend the school of their choice say they've fallen short in collecting enough signatures to place the proposal on the November ballot.
Supporters say they've managed to collect only 20% of the required number of signatures by today's deadline. In an email to supporters earlier this month, Michael Alexander, chair of California School Choice Initiative, said the campaign would collect about 200,000 signatures by the 180-day deadline for submission on April 11 - that’s 20% of the required 997,000 verified signatures and less than a seventh of the campaign’s original goal of 1.5 million signature to ensure the initiative qualified.
“While that is far short of the number required, we can pride ourselves on an incredible effort,” he wrote, promising to try again in 2024.
According to official statements, the initiative has confirmed that they'll try again in 2024. If passed, the proposal would have funded the average state funding per student through the state's General Fund and property taxes.