California Per Pupil Spending Increases

Spending Per Student Increases, Nearly Returning to the Pre-Recession Level – California Budget Project

California’s public schools serve 6.2 million students in more than 1,000 school districts. The Proposition 98 guarantee, which is designed to ensure a minimum level of funding for California’s schools and community colleges, did not prevent deep cuts to state spending for schools during the Great Recession and its aftermath.1 In response to sizeable budget shortfalls, lawmakers reduced the state’s annual Proposition 98 spending level for schools by more than $7 billion – or nearly 15 percent – between 2007-08 and 2011-12. As a result, spending per K-12 student – after adjusting for inflation – dropped from $9,261 in 2007-08 to $7,401 in 2011-12, a decline of $1,860 (Figure 1).

State revenues have increased during the past few years due
to a recovering economy and voter approval of two revenue measures – Propositions 30 and 39 – in November 2012. Higher revenues have, in turn, boosted the Proposition 98 guarantee. The Governor’s proposed 2014-15 budget includes Proposition 98 spending per K-12 student of nearly $9,200, an increase of almost $1,800 – or nearly one-quarter (24.2 percent) – from 2011-12, after adjusting for inflation. With this significant increase, spending per student would nearly return to where it was before the recession.

See the entire report at California Budget Project. www.CBP.org

Ed.Note: The NEA ranks California 34 of the 50 states in per pupil funding in 2012.