California Schools get Significant New Funding

California is expected to get $6.7 billion more in revenue than originally anticipated in the January budget, bringing the total budget for K-12 in 2015-16 to $83 billion from all sources, according to Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget proposal. Based on how Proposition 98 works, $6.1 billion of that extra state revenue is earmarked for K-12 schools and community colleges – a big win for education.

Check it out here.

Local Control Funding Formula boost

The ​L​ocal ​C​ontrol ​F​unding ​F​ormula will get an additional investment of $2.1 billion, raising the total amount of cash for ​the state’s school finance system to $6.1 billion. That means a $1,000 increase per student on average.

See prior posts on Local Control Funding in Sacramento City Unified.

From www.edsource.org

California School Funding Gap is Reduces

Proposition 30 Has Increased  California School Funding - and we passed it !

A valuable way of comparing states’ investment in schools is to look at  K-12 spending as a share of each state’s overall economy. Unlike       other commonly used measures, such as K-12 spending per student, this approach accounts for the personal income received by residents in each state, thus providing a more meaningful comparison that better reflects the financial resources available to support schools and other public systems and services.

 A new Budget Center fact sheet examines California’s K-12 spending as a share of the state’s economy. This analysis shows that while California’s investment in K-12 schools lags that in the rest of the n ation, the gap between California and the rest of the US has narrowed since 2012-13, partly as a result of voters approving Proposition 30’s tax increases in November 2012. Read the fact sheet.

From the California Budget and Policy Center  

Teach The Students Well- Their Own History !

Write Chicano/Mexican American History into California State Textbooks

By Duane Campbell

Mexican American/Chicano history is substantially absent from public school textbooks and curriculum in California- and it has been since  1986.  This year we have an opportunity to change that. 

California has the largest student  population of any state, with more than 6,236,000 students  in school in 2013.  Students who are Mexican American of Latino heritage make up over 53% of the total school population. 

Latino student political non participation  and disconnectedness is significantly caused by Latino absence from the K-12 textbooks and curriculum. 

Children and young adults need to see themselves in the curriculum.  Students, have low levels of attachment to California and U.S.  civics engagement in significant part because the government institution they encounter the most- the schools-  ignore the students’ own history, cultures and experiences.

California state textbooks currently largely ignore the roles of Mexican Americans and Latinos in building this state.  Students need to learn civic engagement – it is not automatic.  Students need to learn that they belong , that they are a part of the community and its history.

Students need more funds, not more tests.

As a teacher of more than 20 years at an inner-city high school in Los Angeles, I saw the value of federal dollars sent to our local public schools through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. In fact, millions of America’s poorest schoolchildren depend on the Title 1 funding that was established in the law as part of the landmark 1965 “War on Poverty” legislation. 

In Los Angeles, Title 1 funding allowed us to buy paper, pens and pencils that, while taken for granted in many communities, were a luxury for children and parents living in poverty. It also allowed us to hire instructional aides and provide programs that gave thousands of students the help they needed to succeed in school and prepare for college.

Congress must now decide whether to reauthorize the act, and whether to continue with the high-stakes testing mandates adopted as part of President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind and President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top.

Minimum funding level for schools increased in May revise

Report of the California Budget Project 5/16/2013

0. Increased Revenues Boost the Minimum Funding Level for Schools
   Approved by voters in 1988, Proposition 98 constitutionally guarantees a minimum level of funding for K-12 schools, community colleges, and the state preschool program. Because changes in state General Fund revenues tend to affect the Proposition 98 guarantee, the Proposition 98 funding levels included in the May Revision reflect changes in 2012-13 and 2013-14 projected revenue compared to January budget estimates. The May Revision assumes a 2012- 13 Proposition 98 funding level of $56.5 billion for K-14 education programs, $2.9 billion more than the level assumed in the Governor’s January proposal. However, the May Revision assumes a 2013-14 Proposition 98 funding level of $55.3 billion, $941.4 million less than the level assumed in the Governor’s January proposal. Specifically, the May Revision:
   
   •   Increases repayments to schools and community colleges by $758 million by the end of 2013-14 compared to the Governor’s January budget proposal. The May Revision provides an additional $1.8 billion in 2012-13 to partially restore previously deferred payments to schools and community colleges, but decreases 2013-14 repayments by more than $1 billion. At the end of 2013-14, payment deferrals to schools and community colleges – that is, the amount still owed by the state – would be $5.5 billion under the May Revision, compared to $6.3 billion under the Governor’s January budget proposal.
     
   •   Provides $1 billion in one-time 2012-13 funding to support implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In August 2010, the State Board of Education adopted CCSS for California’s K-12 schools.