Budget Close-up
CTA’s rapid analysis of the governor’s budget proposal finds that the plan would provide the minimum level of funding required by the constitution’s guarantee to schools. Because of a steady decline in student enrollment (measured as average daily attendance or ADA), the budget contains little funding for new or expanded programs. The budget would provide $56.8 billion in total Proposition 98 funding, a 3.3% increase over 2006-07 funding. The K-12 Proposition 98 per-pupil expenditure would rise $276 from 2006-2007.
The governor’s budget proposes to shift $627 million for home-to-school transportation from the Proposition 98 General Fund to the Public Transportation Account (PTA). This shift in effect would “rebench” Proposition 98 downward, producing a General Fund savings of $627 million. The proposal would not reduce home-to-school transportation or any other Proposition 98 program. The budget proposes to make the shift a permanent feature.
The budget would also shift $269 million in Child Care Funding from the CalWORKs Child Care Stage 2. By using available Proposition 98 funds in lieu of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant funds for child care, this proposal frees a comparable amount of TANF funding to offset non-Proposition 98 General Fund costs in the CalWORKs program.
Major K-12 Funding in the 2007-08 Budget
The proposed budget would:
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Apply a 4.04 % Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) to most categorical programs.
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Continue funding all 2006-2007 programs that received ongoing money.
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Provide $133 million for a 4.04% COLA for special education.
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Allocate $418 million for the Instructional Materials Block Grant, representing a 4.04% increase.
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Appropriate $276 million for Deferred Maintenance, reflecting the 4.04% COLA.
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Allocate $243 million for High Priority Schools, the same amount in the 2006-2007 spending plan.
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Provide no funding for equalization.
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Include $300 million to begin repaying $2.9 billion in Proposition 98 settle-up obligations. Of that, $268 million involve the implementation of SB 1133. SB 1133 will send another $38 million to the community colleges for career technical education programs and courses.
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Defer funding for mandates for the 2007-2008.
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And eliminate the teacher tax credit proposal entirely.
Programs to Receive Additional One-time Funding
The proposed budget would also:
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Provide $50 million for the Low Performing School Enrichment Block Grant, a program moving into its third year.
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Allocate $10 million for the current Intern Program to help attract teachers, particularly in the areas of Math, Science, and Career Technical.
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Appropriate $5 million to school districts for the purchase of individual materials for students who have failed or are at risk of failing the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). The budget also would provide staff development support for teachers and materials.
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Provide $1.5 million to expand the Partnership for Success Program, which aims to increase the number of students academically prepared to succeed in college. This program would provide grants to fund three partnerships between local school districts and a CSU campus.
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And allocate $1 million to establish the California Program Improvement Management System (Cal PIMS). This system will provide low-achieving schools and school districts a unified intervention program on-line.
Proposition 98 Reversion Account
The governor’s budget proposes one-time Proposition 98 Reversion Account funding totaling $185.9 million. It would provide:
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$100 million for school facility emergency repairs, consistent with the Williams settlement agreement.
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$43.9 million for charter school facilities.
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$25.7 million for CalWORKs Child Care.
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$8.8 million for teacher induction programs.
Reform Proposals
The governor is proposing two reform proposals:
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Streamlining the current 175 different credentials for career technical education into 15 industry sectors. (This change requires legislation.)
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Improving the current School Accountability Report Card (SARC) to make it more understandable to the public. (This increase in “transparency” will be made legislatively.)
Community Colleges
The budget proposal would provide total funding of $18.7 billion for the community colleges including:
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A cost-of-living adjustment of 4.04%.
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A 2% increase in student enrollment growth at a cost of more than $209 million, enough to cover the costs of serving 36,000 additional full-time students.
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A Proposition 98 K-12/Community College split of 11.06%.
In addition, the governor’s proposed budget would provide $20 million in ongoing funds to support Career Technical Education programs designed to help reform instruction offered to secondary school students through partnerships with Community Colleges.
The budget proposal would also provide $8.2 million to expand community college recruiting efforts.
