Proposition 51 and School Facilities Funding

Whether or Not Voters Approve Proposition 51, Inequities in California’s K-12 School Facilities Funding System Are Likely to Continue

California Budget and Policy Center

Ballot Propositions · Education · October 7, 2016 · By Jonathan Kaplan

Earlier this week we released our analysis of Proposition 51, the $9 billion state general obligation (GO) bond for K-12 school and community college facilities on the November ballot. Our analysis shows the difficult choice faced by California voters who want to help students from low-income families. State bond dollars for K-14 education facilities effectively have been exhausted for several years, leaving local school districts without a key source of state support. So, there is obvious appeal in approving the new bond funds that Prop. 51 would provide. Yet, whether or not voters pass Prop. 51, inequities in the funding of California’s K-12 school facilities are likely to continue for at least the near future.

Prop. 51 would provide $7 billion in new state funds for K-12 school facilities. However, Prop. 51 would require that these funds be distributed according to current rules for allocating K-12 facilities dollars, unless voters approve changes to these rules in the future. In other words, the measure would essentially lock in place the existing facilities funding system, which disadvantages certain K-12 school districts. For example, under the current system state dollars are allocated to districts primarily on a first-come, first-served basis. This tends to reward school districts that are able to apply for funding more quickly and/or have more resources, such as larger districts with more staff.

On the other hand, if voters reject Prop. 51 and state bond funds remain unavailable, the main source for K-12 school districts to obtain facilities dollars would be local GO bonds. But here, too, districts that are less well-off face a disadvantage. This is because local property wealth determines the amount of money K-12 school districts can raise through local bonds, and districts with large shares of students from low-income families have significantly less property wealth per student, on average, than districts with large shares of students from families with higher incomes. As a result, K-12 districts in low-income communities generally can’t raise as much money for school facilities as districts in communities with higher-incomes.

LA Unified, San Francisco Unified to Require Ethnic Studies

L.A. Unified to require ethnic studies for high school graduation

Students at LAUSD high schools such as Thomas Jefferson High School will be required for the first time to take ethnic studies classes to graduate. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

By Stephen Ceasar  contact the reporter

EducationHigh SchoolsStudentsMinority Groups

In an attempt to build cultural understanding, LAUSD will require ethnic studies for high school graduates

Students in the Los Angeles Unified School District will be required for the first time to take ethnic studies classes as part of an effort to encourage stronger cultural understanding.

The idea, brought forward by Board of Education members Bennett Kayser, George McKenna and Steve Zimmer, is aimed at narrowing the academic gap between minority students and their white and Asian peers by pushing students to achieve through the exploration of different perspectives in literature, history and social justice. More than 90 languages are spoken in the district.

Related story: El Rancho schools don't wait on state, adopt ethnic-studies curriculum

Stephen Ceasar

The school system allowed ethnic studies classes in the 1990s, but let the schools decide whether to offer them. Few provided the courses. This time, they will be a graduation requirement at all high schools.

Jose Lara, a leading advocate of the move and a social studies teacher at Santee Education Complex, said students develop a better sense of self-worth when they learn about themselves and their history.

He said teachers will have the freedom to craft curriculum to suit the needs and interests of their students. "In East L.A., it might be Chicano history. In Koreatown, it might be Asian American courses," he said.