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Education Coalition

The Governor’s Budget proposal to fund Prop 98 at a level that reflects the increased revenues from the November 2012 election and his effort to eliminate the wall of debt by paying down deferrals is supported by the Education Coalition. This reflects the Coalition’s long standing principle to protect the integrity of the Proposition 98 guarantee.

The Education Coalition also reaffirms that the use of new revenues to fund cost-of-living adjustments, enrollment growth, and to start reversing the deep budget cuts that were made to California’s public schools should be a priority. California continues to be the 8th largest economy in the world and our academic standards are among the most rigorous in the country, but our investment in education is among the lowest compared to other states.

California is 49th in per-pupil spending at $8,482, which was 28% below the national average of $11,824 according to Education Week’s annual survey released in January 2013.

 Read the Education Coalition Budget Position Paper

Why We Need Tax Fairness

Average household income
Educators are fed up with watching our students and schools go without while banks are being bailed out and the middle class and poor are being shut out. The survival of California’s public schools and essential public services depends on stable tax revenues. And a stable tax structure begins with everyone paying their fair share.

Teachers Pay For Supplies

Teacher buying school supplies

In budget-strapped California, pencils, paper and textbooks are indeed prized goods — and their availability in classrooms is increasingly dependent upon the resourcefulness of teachers.

 Read the full Time Magazine article

Issues & Action

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State Budget

  • We commend Governor Brown for keeping public education a priority in his May revision of the state budget. Allocating $1 billion to help local school districts implement the Common Core State Standards is great and welcome news for California’s students. The money is much needed to provide training, professional development, textbooks and materials. The transition to the Common Core Standards will dramatically impact how teachers teach. Educators must have the support and resources they need in order for the new standards to be implemented effectively.

    CTA continues to support the goals of Gov. Brown’s proposed Local Control Funding Formula as we believe that every student is entitled to educational equality and appreciate the recognition that it costs more money to educate students with higher needs. We will review the proposed changes and will continue to work with the governor and legislators to ensure all concerns are addressed, including accountability, use of accurate data in determining funding levels and timing of implementation. We look forward to having many more discussions in the next few weeks as the state budget is finalized.

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Schools Under Stress: An EdSource Report

teens taking test

California's 30 largest school districts—which educate nearly 2 million students—are facing multiple stresses tied to the economic crisis at a state and national level, threatening their ability to provide a quality education to California's children, according to an EdSource report.

The findings of the report include the following:

  • More than 1/3 of the districts ended up laying off some 2,000 classroom teachers for the current school year.
  • Half of the districts surveyed had 30 or more students in one or more of their K-3 grades, a stark reversal of the 1-to-20 teacher-to-student ratio that was the norm in almost every K-3 classroom in 2007-08.
  • 12 out of 30 districts have an instructional year of less than 180 days.
  • Nearly all of the state's 30 largest districts are educating more students living in poverty.

Read the 28-page report 

More Info

  • 49th in Per-Pupil Spending
    While California receives a "B+" for equity, we unfortunately receive an "F" for spending.
  • The Basics of California's School Finance System
    Every summer, the CA legislature and governor decide how much money will go to K–12 public education and how it will be divided among school districts, county offices of education and the CA Dept of Ed.
  • Proposition 98: What You Should Know
    Passed by voters in 1988, Prop 98 sets a minimum funding guarantee for public education.

More Info

  • Decade of Disinvestment

    A decade of disinvestment has left California’s spending for public schools lagging the nation by a number of measures.

  • CA Schools Cope with Adversity and the Imperative To Do More
    California school districts are being expected to "do more with less." They face critical and competing pressures to improve academic achievement while remaining fiscally solvent in a time of increasing budgetary pressures.

CALIFORNIA EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY REPORT

2011 Equal Opportunity Report | UCLA IDEA

Each year, the UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education and Access produces an annual report on the learning conditions and educational outcomes across California public schools. Last year’s report highlighted how the “great recession” created new challenges for California’s already weakened educational infrastructure. Now, the challenges California faces are worse.

One core finding states that "California high schools are providing less time, attention, and quality programs. As a consequence, student engagement, achievement and progress to graduation and college are suffering."

Read the full report:
"Free Fall: Educational Opportunities"

Read the Executive Summary

View charts and graphs

Government Action

Issues in Education

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Every child deserves a chance to learn and no child succeeds alone.

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