News Impacting CA Schools for the Week Ending August 30
Federal
First came the announcement that California was not going to receive Round 2 Race to the Top funding. Then came the finger-pointing about the lack of cooperation with the teachers unions. In the end, California’s poor reform track record proved its to be it undoing.
Sacramento
After getting a waiver from the Federal government, the California Board of Education awarded monies for the federal School Improvement Grants. While addressing some of the shortcomings of the first proposal, there is still plenty of room for improvement.
With the governor’s signature of SB 1422, students have won the right to express views of their teachers. It will take another bill, however, to win the right to actually be listened to.
School Districts Impacts
The closer Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gets to leaving office and the longer the budget stalemate drags out, the more frank he seems to become. As a result, the State begins withholding/deferring payments to school districts.
News Impacting CA School Districts Through August 20
Sacramento News
A bill to create the state’s first formal system for soliciting opinions of high school students about their classes and teacher effectiveness was sent to Governor Schwarzenegger. Senate Bill 1422 would authorize student governments at each high school to appoint a committee of students and faculty to develop surveys for “fostering improved communication between pupils and teachers, and improving individual classes.”
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced California was awarded nearly $51.8 million in federal Charter Schools Program grant funding through the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement. The fact that California was a grant recipient was announced in July. However, the U.S. Department of Education recently announced how a total $136 million would be divided among 12 state education agencies including the California Department of Education (CDE).
School District Impacts
As public schools continue to be battered in California’s budget wars, parents are organizing to compete with other powerful constituencies fighting for a share of dwindling taxpayer dollars and to push for education reforms. Parents are arguably among the least politically active, given the relentless time and financial pressures of raising children. For years, many have worked on local school issues through their PTAs to advocate for their schools, and the California PTA to represent them in Sacramento. But in a state where Sacramento controls so much of what happens in local schools, some parents are beginning to realize they may have no choice but to get more directly involved in political organizing.
After making the “easy cuts” school districts are struggling to find ways to reduce expenses. Lodi Unified trustees deadlocked Tuesday in a 3-3 vote, denying staff permission to file a class-size reduction waiver that would have allowed the district to legally increase class sizes as state and local officials continue to battle budget cuts in education.
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) is a nonpartisan grassroots movement of concerned citizens and businesses who are fighting against lawsuit abuse in California. CALA released a report on litigation costs to 12 of California’s school districts, finding that in just three fiscal years, these schools spent $98.7 million.
News Impacting CA School Districts Through August 13
Federal News
President Obama signed a bill allocating $26 billion state relief fund for public safety and education jobs. California will get at least $1.2 billion for its schools. California has up to 30 days to apply from enactment, and the federal government then has up to 15 days to distribute the funds. Once money flows to the districts, local school boards have to ratify whatever decisions are made on how the funds will be spent.
Sacramento News
Does anyone really believe that having Meg Whitman in Sacramento will mean state budget passed sooner like she claims.
Reforming State and Local Governance
Even reform measures created by Legislature run into trouble. Citing a $19 billion deficit and a struggling economy, the Legislature voted to remove Prop 18 Water Bond measure from the November ballot and wait until 2012.
School District Impacts
School districts who are looking for additional revenue should tread lightly when looking charging fees for athletics and extra curricular activities. The American Civil Liberties Union is stepping up the pressure on school districts that are violating state law by charging students to participate in athletics and other extracurricular activities.
In a sign of the times, cities, school and special districts in the Alameda and Contra Costa counties have placed 32 measures on the Nov. 2 ballot, and most of them ask voters for money.
News Impacting CA School Districts Through August 6
Federal News
The Department of Education announced a cross-section of 49 school districts, nonprofit education organizations and institutions of higher education have been selected from among nearly 1,700 applicants for potential funding under the Investing in Innovation (i3) program. To receive a share of the $650 million in i3 grants, the winning applicants must secure a commitment for a 20 percent private sector match by Sept. 8.
The U.S. Senate today approved a long-stalled measure that would provide $10 billion to prevent what supporters say would be hundreds of thousands of teacher layoffs nationwide. Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives, meanwhile, are taking the unusual step of calling for lawmakers to return from their August recess next week to pass the final version of the bill.
Sacramento News
The state Board of Education voted 9-0 to adopt the federal common core standards. By approving the national standards, the state’s application received additional points for a federal Race to the Top education grant that could be worth $700 million. Don’t expect to see changes in the classroom any time soon.
The timing of potential awards to school districts of $415 million of federal grant money late last Friday was questionable. On Monday, the state Board members sought a delay to clarify the selection process for doling out the money, which could exclude districts such as Oakland, Mt. Diablo, West Contra Costa and Los Angeles from receiving any money.
Reforming State and Local Governance
Here is an unintended consequence of term limits. Sen. Gloria Romero in an attempt to bolster her credentials for State Superintendent of Pubic Instruction sponsored legislation that identified 1,00 schools as among the lowest performing in the state. Students in those schools, for the first time, would have the right to transfer to any other school in the state, and would no longer be confined to schools in their own district. The only problem is that the list includes dozens of schools that were doing quite well, as a result of an artifact contained in the legislation which established the list. In addition, high performing school districts can reject applicants due to budgetary concerns, which most school districts are experiencing.
School District Impacts
Here is an example unintended consequences of March 15 notices and tightening budgets. In the wake of widespread layoffs, the cost of health benefits for hundreds of teachers that survived last year’s bloodbath at the Torrance Unified School District is skyrocketing.
News Impacting CA School Districts Through July 30
Federal News
California will join 17 other states and the District of Columbia as finalists in the competition for $3.4 billion in Race to the Top money. Thirty-five states had applied in the second round. Between 10 and 15 states are expected to be awarded money, so, depending on where California is in the standings, California could come away with all or some of the $700 million it is seeking.
Sacramento News
Day 30 and counting with no signs of state budget. Once again, Governor Schwarzenegger threatens to not a sign a budget unless there is legislation to curtail public pensions and change California’s taxation and budgeting systems.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown unveiled an education reform plan that calls for a wholesale restructuring of California’s public school system, from changing the way schools are funded to revamping the state’s higher education system.
Reforming State and Local Governance
Opponents of Proposition 14 filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court seeking to block the state from transitioning to a “top two” primary system. The lawsuit targets Senate Bill 6, the bill implementing the “top-two’ primary system that was approved with 53.8 percent of the vote in the June primary.
School District Impacts
Reductions to K-12 funding by State are beginning to show up in the classrooms as numerous school districts adopt a shortened school year for 2010/11.
As the August 6th deadline approaches, numerous school districts have made decisions about passing a parcel tax or bond measure on the November ballot. West Contra Costa, John Swett, East Side and Oakland among some of the districts who approved placing a parcel tax measure this week. Santa Rosa and Dublin decide to wait.
News Impacting CA School Districts Through July 23
Sacramento News
Debt service is now about 6 percent of the state’s $86 billion general fund budget, more than twice what it was a decade ago according to the Legislative Analyst Office. This trend is causing the Governor and the Legislature to consider removing the Water Bond Measure in November and also could reduce the placement of future State school facilities bonds that are used for local school districts for matching purposes.
School District Impacts
The first week of August is the deadline for school boards to place a parcel tax or bond measure on the November ballot. For those school districts considering bond measure they should review the specifics of the measure to avoid nasty accusations from taxpayers. In addition, boards may want to review the bidding process for repairs to roofs to insure a competitive process.
News Impacting CA School Districts Through July 16
Federal News
Demand is far out pacing resources in one hot segment of the education innovation market, as districts, schools, and nonprofit organizations pitch reform proposals worth $12.8 billion for competitive grants to be awarded under the federal Investing in Innovation Fund, or “i3”—nearly 20 times what the U.S. Department of Education has available. The $650 million competition financed by the economic-stimulus package drew 1,698 applicants by the May 12 application deadline, creating a wish list that ranges from a $22,282 proposal to improve students’ writing in Connecticut’s Preston district to a $50 million plan to expand the Teach For America corps.
Sacramento News
The California State Board of Education declared an emergency in 1,000 public schools the state has designated as among the lowest performing in the state. The law sets out a timeline allowing parents to apply to transfer their children to schools in other districts by Jan. 1 preceding the school year they wish to transfer. But the state board wants the law implemented immediately, to allow students who wish to enroll in other districts by November 1, rather than the fall of 2011, as the law seemed to envisage.
As if California doesn’t have enough to deal with, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has opened up a new front in the education and political wars: He wants to abolish the office of the superintendent of public instruction.
Reforming State and Local Governance
A 17-page CalPERS sales brochure told legislators a decade ago that a major increase in state worker pension benefits would not increase state costs, but annual state payments to the pension fund have soared from $159 million to $3.9 billion since then. Contribution from school districts have grown from $0 to $1.2 billion.
School District Impacts
Just as education experts are encouraging more classroom time to improve student grades and test scores, many California districts are moving in the opposite direction by shortening their school year amid a sustained and draining budget crisis. Of the state’s 30 largest school districts, 16 are reducing the number of days in the academic year, according to a survey by California Watch. The changes are expected to affect about 1.4 million students in these districts alone.
A five-year parcel tax to generate money for San Diego schools will go before voters in November, potentially reigniting a dispute between business and labor. The parcel tax would cost single-family homeowners $98 a year. Apartment and condominium owners would pay $60 per unit. Low-income senior citizens would be exempt from the tax. Commercial and industrial properties would pay a flat yearly tax of $450 under a scaled-back version of the original plan, which would have charged nonresidential parcels based on size and development up to $25,000.
With no news on the final details of state budget, school districts like Hayward made the difficult decision to suspend preschool programs.
News Impacting CA School Districts Through July 9
Federal News
“Keep Our Educators Working Act” which was passed by the House faces some tough sliding ahead. California stands to receive $1.2 billion for K-12 schools. However, the Senate needs to find cuts in federal spending and President Obama threatens to veto since it also contains $800 million in cuts to his reform initiatives, including a whack out of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top fund.
Sacramento News
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a new demand that a specific change in state worker pensions be made before he signs off on a budget. At a minimum, the governor said he wants legislators to roll back current pension terms to those that existed before 1999 legislation created more generous rules.
School District Impacts
After loss of a parcel tax election in largest California school district, Los Angeles Unified School District,the second largest school district is considering a parcel tax election. The San Diego Unified School District has proposed a parcel tax for the November ballot to help pay for teachers, protect class sizes and maintain education programs. It would generate $58 million annually over five years. If the measure is placed on the ballot and approved by voters, single-family homeowners would be charged $98 annually while condominium and apartment owners would be taxed $60 per unit. Low-income seniors would be exempt. Commercial and industrial properties would be taxed based on parcel size, ranging from $450 for parcels up to 25,000 square feet and $25,000 for those more than 250,000 square feet.
Benicia Unified School District staff and a consultant are crafting a resolution in favor of a parcel tax between $49 and $59 annually after failing in two prior attempts. In 2004, Measure S for a $105 annual parcel tax just missed the two-thirds mark with only 64.6 percent voting yes. Two years later, Measure I for a $254 annual parcel tax failed with only 53 percent support.
News Impacting CA School Districts Through July 2
Sacramento News
The California Department of Education posted the 14 school districts (12 from first interim) were assigned negative certification and 160 school districts (114 from second interim) were assigned qualified certification for the second interim posted in March, 2010. The number is only going to larger as state funding continues to decline.
Reforming State and Local Governance
The Secretary of State has assigned numbers to the statewide initiatives for the November ballot. For school districts looking to run a parcel tax campaign on the November, some consideration of the type of turnout these propositions will bring in your school district needs to be factored into your decision making.
School District Impacts
Once again school districts have to approve their annual budgets without any idea what the State budget will look like. In Fremont, they were able to approve a budget after reaching a tentative agreement with employee groups that sees class size increase to 28 for K-3 and six furlough days. The Capistrano Unified School District approved a budget that wiped out class size reduction in K-3 entirely, raising class size to 31.5.
News Impacting CA Schools for the Week Ending June 25
Sacramento
In the past few years, the State has deferred payments to school districts to address budgetary and cash flow problems at the State level. This practice has gotten so bad that numerous school districts have had to take out loans to address their own cash flow issues. In a bit of good news, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed a bill that does not give districts all the money they should receive before June 30, but at least 57 percent. At least $1.1 billion will still come late.
Reforming State and Local Governance
November 2010 will once again be busy for voters. Ballot measures to legalize marijuana, decrease the margin needed to pass a State budget, increase the margin to increase fees, repeal AB 32, Congressional redistricting, eliminate the newly created commission on redistricting means there will be plenty of commercials on the television.
School Districts Impacts
After passing three parcel taxes in the past eight years, Alameda Unified School District lost their latest attempt by a slim margin of one percent with 65.6% Yes.
In a growing trend, employee groups are agreeing to salary rollbacks in addition to furlough days. In Saddleback, teachers and other certificated employees must take a 9.73 percent pay cut that includes a mix of furlough days, higher insurance costs and salary rollbacks. In Sacramento, SCTA members will be required to give up $950 in salary in each of the two years of the agreement. District officials say that the $2.1 million in savings from that giveback this year is the equivalent of three furlough days for SCTA members.