Reuters (8/5, Respaut) reports that legislative analysts in California said the state’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year shows $152.3 billion in spending that includes a lot more money for education and contains a plan to fund the $189.1 billion pension system for teachers that would take 32 years. Overall, the budget proposes to spend 8.6 percent more than last year. The budget contains increased funding for schools as well as community colleges to make education an overall focus. The budget would draw down reserves from $2.9 billion to $2.1 billion, but a better economy and new sources of tax revenue mean the state likely will have another deficit-free year.
California Budget Includes Funds For Pre-K
The Los Angeles Times (6/16, Megerian, Mason) reports that the California Legislature “approved a $156.4-billion state budget on Sunday,” for the fiscal year starting July 1. Among other things, “it funds preschool for children from poor families, increases welfare grants and continues expanding public healthcare under President Obama’s federal overhaul.”
The Sacramento (CA) Bee (6/16, Siders, White) notes that the budget will start to “pay down an estimated shortfall of more than $74 billion in the teachers’ pension fund,” and “includes $264 million for new children’s programs, including 11,500 preschool slots for low-income 4-year-olds by June 2015 and another 31,500 slots in future years.”
The San Jose (CA) Mercury News (6/15, Richman) reported on a series of ballot measures which will determine how the funds are spent.
California Lawmakers Strike Compromise On Pre-K Expansion. The Washington Post (6/13, Wilson) reported in its “Govbeat” blog on a legislative compromise in California that, if approved, would give “hundreds of thousands of low-income children...access to pre-school education.” The agreement was announced Thursday and was expected to go before the full state Senate and Assembly in a full budget proposal by Sunday. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has not said whether he will sign it or veto the overall budget, but he has line-item veto power as well. The proposal “would provide hundreds of millions of dollars to offer preschool access to 234,000 low-income four-year olds.” The Post says legislators settled on $85 million for fiscal 2014-15 while “another $85 million would go toward improving pre-school quality, including $50 million in grants to local school districts and $35 million in one-time funding for professional development for teachers.”
California School Administrators Object To Draft Bill That Caps Emergency Reserves
The Sacramento (CA) Bee (6/11) reports in its “Capitol Alert” blog that school officials objected to “last-minute budget language” in a draft bill “that would cap the amount of money California school districts may set aside for economic uncertainties,” limiting the amount “to two or three times the minimum required.” The Bee says the reserve limits are considered “a potential victory for public employee unions resistant to tying money up in reserves,” but administrators consider the limits “‘fiscally irresponsible’ and inconsistent with principles of local control.” The administrators backed a letter send to Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D) Administration and California lawmakers to object to the draft bill language and its last-minute appearance.
Lawmakers Predict “Good News” For Pre-K In California Budget
The Los Angeles Times (6/12, Megerian) reports that California Assembly Budget Chairwoman Nancy Skinner (D) predicted “good news” for pre-schools in California’s upcoming budget. The Times says not many details are available yet publicly but Senate leader Darrel Steinberg (D) said, “We’re going to make some good, solid investments in kids, in infrastructure, and in some other key areas.” The Times says “Steinberg originally wanted to provide every California child with preschool, at an annual cost of $1.5 billion,” but “he later pared down his proposal to $378 million to pay for preschool for all 4-year-olds from low-income families.” Gov. Jerry Brown has insisted on “more conservative revenue projections” but has opened “the door for lawmakers to spend more than he originally proposed.”
California BOE Begins Shaping New Education Funding System
Andrew Ujifusa writes at the Education Week (11/14) “State EdWatch” blog that in the wake of the “fundamentally new plan” for K-12 funding enacted by the California legislature earlier this year, the responsibility for setting up new less restrictive regulations for spending falls to the state Board of Education. The BOE met last week to review “a draft of regulations governing the local-control formula.” He continues to describe the three options that districts will have for “spending these ‘targeted’ state funds.”
California Law Bans Long-Term CABs For School Construction
The Los Angeles Times (10/3, Weikel) reports that California Gov. Jerry Brown (R) has signed legislation “cracking down” on the use of long-term capital appreciation bonds for school construction. The Times characterizes the practice as “risky,” and notes that it can lead to “debt payments many times the amount borrowed.” The Times notes that observers have criticized the bonds as being “reminiscent of the lending and Wall Street excesses that contributed to the Great Recession.”
The Orange County (CA) Register (10/3, Kyle) reports that the bill means that schools “will no longer be able to shift debt payments for new classrooms to taxpayers 40 years in the future,” noting that it “sharply limits the cost of so-called capital appreciation bonds, which dozens of California schools have used in recent years.”