Faced with a record $38.2 billion deficit, California has adopted a state budget that limits education funding cuts to $1.5 billion.
"Any cut to education funding is painful, but we commend Gov. Davis for working with teachers to target these budget cuts as far away from the classroom as possible, and for protecting funding for class size reduction, special education and our Schools of Greatest Need," says CTA President Barbara E. Kerr.
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Ever since the first anti-voucher campaign in the early 1990s, Orange County education leaders have maintained a Good News Coalition to promote public education. That coalition stepped into high gear as the state budget crisis grew worse this summer. In addition to holding some well-covered news conferences, hundreds of teachers and other coalition participants turned out for simultaneous picketing at the offices of four key legislators. Shown here are coalition members outside the office of Assembly Member Tom Harmon in Huntington Beach. |
While CTA applauds targeting the cuts away from the classroom, it resents the removal of a requirement that local school districts spend a portion of their reserve funds to protect local classrooms.
The budget gives districts the temporary flexibility to reduce reserves, shift categorical funds and suspend deferred maintenance in order to cope with instructional reductions. Unfortunately, language saying districts are required to do so was replaced with language saying they may do so.
"We are most disappointed that this changes language that was already agreed upon by the entire education community," says Kerr. "This change should not be used by school districts to justify laying off additional teachers or increasing class size. In these tough budget times, school districts need flexibility to use reserve funds, but those dollars must be spent on programs that directly impact students, teachers and classrooms.
"Reserve funds are meant for rainy days, and it's been storming for months."
CTA is advising local chapters that they may have to fight to make sure those reserve funds are used in the classroom rather than spent on other district priorities.
The budget was passed after months of partisan wrangling during which CTA and the Education Coalition fought off proposals that would have made across-the-board cuts in school spending - instead of targeted cuts - and specifically reduced appropriations for Schools of Greatest Need.
Kerr cautions that schools can't continue to absorb funding reductions. "Over the past few years, education funding has been cut by more than $5.5 billion. We've got to find an adequate and stable funding system that avoids the boom and bust cycles of recent years. Without serious reform in our state budget process, our students and schools will pay the price."
The newly adopted budget uses a combination of borrowing and program reductions to close all but $8 billion of the $38.2 billion budget deficit. Lawmakers plan to handle the remaining gap as part of the 2004-05 budget deliberations.
The new spending plan:
- Maintains the integrity of Prop. 98 and provides schools with the minimum level of funding guaranteed by the state constitution.
- Requires the state to allocate additional resources to public education when the economy turns around. It would make up for the 1.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment owed to schools but not paid in the 2003-04 school year.
- Provides $504 million to cover a projected 1.34 percent increase in student attendance for basic programs and special education.
- Allocates $218 million for the High Priority Schools Grant program.
Len Feldman
