California has a right to be proud of its strong educational standards – California’s are among the toughest in the nation. But for schools to meet these tough standards, there must be resources available to meet the challenge. Currently, California is the 47th state in the union in per student funding for public education.
Funding Update 2014:
As part of the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), all school districts are now required to submit a three year plan known as the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). Categorical funds that were once distributed on a per pupil allocation to individual school sites, are now required as part of a district wide plan for serving students in the eight priority areas as determined by the state. More here.
Funding Update 2013:
The California Legislature approved Governor Brown’s proposal to fundamentally change the way school districts in California are funded. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) now directs funding based on a model of educational equity. More information is available here on the LCFF, and how it is affecting our public schools in Berkeley.
Funding Update 2012:
The Governor’s preliminary January, 2012 budget significantly reduces the amount of money for public school districts in California. And if the governor’s package of taxes does not pass in November, there would be another very large reduction in December.
This comes at a particularly bad time for school districts, which are losing (or have lost) federal stimulus funds. In Berkeley, the budget reduction for 2012-13 due to the lost of federal stimulus funds alone is $1.7 million. Couple this with reductions from the state, including losses in transportation, mental health funding, and other items, and the total budget gap for 2012 will be over $3 million.
An additional cut of $370 per pupil from the General Fund will take effect in December if the Governor’s package of State taxes do not pass. This cut alone would amount to over $3 million loss for our district.
The School Board and District staff must prepare a budget based on the Governor’s preliminary proposal. The first airing of the Staff Recommendations for cuts in the coming school year is scheduled for the February 22 Board Meeting. More information on the school district budget is available here.
You can help by contacting those elected to represent the children and youth of California:
Governor Jerry Brown
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160
http://gov.ca.gov/m_contact.
Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner representing District 14 (including Berkeley)
Elihu Harris State Building
1515 Clay Street, Suite 2201, Oakland, CA 94612
Tel: (510) 286-1400
Fax: (510) 286-1406
http://democrats.assembly.ca.
Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles)
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0046
Tel: (916) 319-2046
Fax: (916) 319-2146
http://www.asmdc.org/speaker/
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg
State Capitol, Room 205, Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel: (916) 651-4006
Fax: (916) 323-2263
http://sd06.senate.ca.gov/
State Senator Loni Hancock (representing Berkeley)
1515 Clay Street, Suite 2202, Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: (510) 286-1333
Fax: (510) 286-3885
http://sd09.senate.ca.gov/