California school budgets

The CTA position.

State budget debacle is failing students and schools

January 13, 2009

BURLINGAME – The news that California has slipped to 47th in per-pupil funding is another strong indication that the state is going in the wrong direction when it comes to financing public schools, and the state Legislature must take steps to address the problem, according to David A. Sanchez, president of the 340,000-member California Teachers Association.
“California schools have some of the highest academic standards in the country. With all the demands placed on our students, it is shameful that we should let our state fall even further behind in per-pupil spending. Quality schools demand a commitment to adequately fund education. It is time for the governor and state Legislature to pass a budget that not only restores funding to our schools, but gives our students a real chance for success.”
“With the dismal budgets passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor in recent years, we are not surprised to learn that new figures released by Education Week in its annual Quality Counts report reveal that California’s ranking has dropped another spot to 47th in the nation and lags the national average by nearly $2,400,” Sanchez said.
Quality Counts 2009 is the 13th edition of Education Week’s series of annual report cards tracking state education policies and outcomes. The report offers a comprehensive state-by-state analysis of key indicators of student success and is one of the most thoroughly researched reports on the health of the nation’s schools.
Quality Counts has given California a grade of F in funding public education.
“It’s appalling that the state with the eighth-largest economy in the world would allow this to happen. It’s time for our governor and legislators to provide our schools and students the resources they need to be successful,” Sanchez said.