Beneath the fanfare of LCFF hitting its funding target two years ahead of schedule lies a budget that is sturdy for K-12 education, but still will leave California in the bottom tier nationally for education funding.
“The Governor’s decision to accelerate implementation of LCFF is a welcome development at a time when classrooms across the state are feeling the effects of rising transportation, utility, health care and benefits costs,” said CSBA President Mike Walsh in a Jan. 10 statement. “But it isn’t enough to lift us from the bottom of the national rankings measuring support for public schools. California’s current status as 41st in per-pupil funding and last or next-to-last in nearly every school staffing metric is unacceptable.”
“California once led the nation in its commitment to the full and fair funding of public education. Unfortunately, that has not been the case since the 1970s. This underinvestment makes it extremely challenging to provide the 21st-century education needed to prepare our students for an increasingly competitive global economy.”
— CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy
While early estimates predicted that 2018–19 would be a Proposition 98 Test 2 year, it is now currently projected as a Test 3 year. The three levels (or “Tests”) of Proposition 98 each dictate a different criteria by which the guarantee is calculated, based on a variety of economic conditions; Test 3 years typically occur when state revenues stall or growth slows, allowing a lower level of K-12 funding. A Test 3 designation for 2018–19 — a year that boasts increasing state revenues — raises concerns that the proposed Proposition 98 guarantee is not as high as it should be, and that the prior budget year’s suspension of supplemental Test 3B payments (which are otherwise required in a Test 3 year) has now come into play.
Favorable aspects of the budget proposal include $70 million in ongoing support for California’s new accountability system (including $55 million for county offices of education), and $100 million for two initiatives targeted towards recruiting and retaining special education teachers. A package of several initiatives to address the teacher shortage from the prior two budget years does not receive additional funding.
For Career and Technical Education, the budget adds $200 million to an already existing $248 million in funding for the Strong Workforce Program, which is administered at the community college level but would offer an expanded K-12 component under this proposal. An additional investment of $12 million goes to fund local industry experts providing CTE technical support to local educational agencies.
A total of $120 million ($100 million one-time, $20 million ongoing) is also proposed for the creation of the California Online College, an online-only community college — the program is currently targeted toward working adults age 25 to 34, but it will not preclude dual enrollment for K-12 students.
CSBA will remain actively engaged in budget negotiations at the Capitol throughout the spring, leading up to the release of the May Revision.
“We expect to work with this Governor and his successor,” Walsh said, “as well as the public and education stakeholders, to advance toward the full and fair funding needed to prepare all students for success in college, career and civic life.”