News Impacting CA School Districts Through September 11
Federal News
La Mesa-Spring Valley School District trustees took extraordinary steps to block the broadcast of President Obama’s speech.
Sacramento News
State Controller John Chiang released his monthly report detailing California’s cash balance, receipts and disbursements in August 2009. Total General Fund revenue was down $237 million (-3.6%) from estimates in the recently amended 2009-10 Budget Act.
Lawmakers recently approved a four-year suspension of California’s textbook-adoption process, as well as its curriculum commission, which was in the middle of updating state frameworks, or content guidelines in science, social studies, and other subject areas. A new state law also allows district officials to forgo purchasing instructional materials altogether and use the money instead on staffing and other critical areas to offset funding cuts resulting from California’s $26 billion budget gap.
Education Finance Districts legislation appears headed to the Governor’s desk. While it does not lower the two-thirds voter approval necessary to raise taxes both at the state and local level, the bill creates “education finance districts” in which three or more contiguous school districts can band together to try to increase local taxes.
Reforming State and Local Governance
A preliminary draft of recommendations from the Commission on 21st Century Economy have been released ahead of the September 20 deadline. The overall objective is to help stabilize state revenues, reduce volatility, promote long-term economic growth and job creation for the state and its citizens, and to establish a tax structure that fits the state’s 21st century economy.
STRS is developing plans to deal with a 25% loss in value.
School District Impacts
Each year school districts need to review their budgets within 45 days after the State passes their budget. As a result, many school districts are discovering the reductions they made last Spring were not enough and they are facing significant reductions again. For example, Los Angeles Unified School District is facing an additional $140 million in reductions. Riverside Unified is looking at an additional $44 million in reductions on top of $30 million made last year. Santa Rosa need an additional $10 million in reductions above the $8 million in reductions from last year.
The Los Angeles Times reports school districts are looking for commercial sponsors and Santa Rosa school district approved a policy to allow commercial naming rights.
School districts who provide bus service are cutting back services.
Central Valley school districts” class size ar growing due to budget issues.
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