California’s public schools are still struggling to meet basic needs even as the state’s economy has rebounded from the Great Recession, analysis finds. Against the backdrop of a strike in the Los Angeles Unified School District and a looming financial crisis in districts statewide, the […]
Category: Funding & Finance
Funding & Finance
What the $3 billion CalSTRS proposal in the 2019-20 budget means for local schools
About 20 minutes into last week’s marathon budget press conference, Gov. Gavin Newsom began discussing the issue of pension cost increases – and was kind enough to name-drop California school board members and CSBA in the process. Watch a clip of Gov. Newsom discussing pension […]
Statement on the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Budget Proposal
“We are encouraged by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first budget, particularly his commitment to the Local Control Funding Formula, school construction, services for young children and families, and recognition of the challenges facing school districts in the form of rising costs for pensions and special education. […]
Protecting existing school funding while fighting for Full and Fair Funding
By Mike Ambrose Full and Fair Funding is crucial for student success, and research continues to demonstrate that increasing funding to education makes an important and lasting impact on students, particularly for students in high-need and low-income schools. Nonetheless, despite boasting the fifth-largest economy in […]
New faces and new bills as 2019-20 legislative session begins
At Monday’s kickoff to the 2019-20 legislative session, both the Senate and Assembly held their respective organizational sessions to seat newly-elected members. Eight seats in the Assembly change hands for 2019-20, as do nine seats in the Senate. On Monday, the desk was also opened […]
Time for the State to Step Up on Facilities Funding
-By Mike Walsh When we talk about Full and Fair Funding for California’s public schools, we often look at the big picture — per-pupil funding levels. That’s natural, since California ranks just 41st nationally in the funding it provides the state’s public school students. This […]
Advanced courses in short supply at low-income schools
As schools celebrate National STEM Day, more work is needed to increase access to advanced courses — particularly in science and math — new information shows. The new CSBA brief, “Supporting STEM Access, Equity, and Effectiveness: Equitable Access to Rigorous STEAM Coursework”, finds there will […]
More than 300 districts eligible for $9.5M in drinking water grants
Districts and schools across California looking for help with drinking water projects are encouraged to apply for funding through the State Water Resources Control Board. The agency has a program that provides $9.5 million in grants to increase access to safe drinking water by replacing […]
2018 state assessments show minimal gains; achievement gaps remain
The latest standardized tests scores for California’s students show relatively flat results from previous years with minimal progress made for students overall. While Latino students improved at a slightly higher rate than the average, African-American student improvements were smaller than the overall increase, contributing to […]
ESSA approved ending months of negotiations with SBE
The State Board of Education unanimously approved final changes to Every Student Succeeds Act plan at its mid-July meeting. On July 12, the U.S. Department of Education approved California’s plan ending a monthslong process of negotiations with the U.S. DOE. The State Board developed the […]