Newsom’s Budget Includes Shell Game Attempt to Erode Proposition 98

SACRAMENTO – California Teachers Association (CTA) President David B. Goldberg issued a statement following today’s release of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed 2026-2027 state budget: 

“In his State of the State address yesterday, Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to make the most significant investment in California history to public schools. Unfortunately, that promise is plagued by a shell game. In the detailed release, it is clear that the governor is proposing to withhold $5.6 billion in school funding guaranteed by Proposition 98. 

“California voters passed Prop. 98 nearly four decades ago to enshrine funding for public schools into our constitution. The governor’s proposal violates this promise by failing to provide the full amount of funding the Constitution demands. It withholds $5.6 billion from schools to cover up the State’s ongoing budget deficit. This is money that, under the Constitution, should be going to classrooms this year. Unless corrected by the Legislature, this shell game will result in larger class sizes, even less mental health support for students and further deepen the escalating recruitment and retention crisis of public school teachers.  

“The 310,000 members of CTA, our allies and our local communities remain resolved to protect Prop. 98 with every resource and legal remedy at our disposal.

“While this proposal is merely the first step in the budget process, school districts often weaponize these announcements to issue unnecessary layoff notices, justify cutting programs and the closure of beloved neighborhood schools, and refuse to make investments to recruit and retain educators. Public school teachers and California communities deserve better. We demand that school districts hold steady and commit to providing stable learning environments to students.  

“This chaos is not new and underscores the need for robust funding and increases in our revenues as a state. Just last year, the 2025-2026 approved state budget underfunded Prop. 98 by $1.9 billion, and students and teachers are still grappling with the devastating impacts of those cuts. In a time of national uncertainty with mounting attacks on education gaining traction at the federal level, threatening cuts to education funding in California will only compound the funding gaps we see in classrooms. 

“Gov. Newsom also spoke about the state of our economy yesterday and proclaimed that it is booming. While the economy is definitely booming for the wealthy and corporations, the rest of us are struggling to make ends meet. The governor also noted that our state revenues are erratic. Californians deserve a strong foundation of stable revenue to steady public education, healthcare, and all public goods at the center of our communities. While per-pupil funding has been improving from record lows a decade ago, we are still far from where we should be. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be first in the nation on spending per student when we are the fourth largest economy in the world.

“We call on the governor to stand with educators and communities and protect funding promised by Prop. 98. We call on our Legislature to have the courage to increase revenue in our state. When we elect lawmakers, it’s with the expectation that they will fight for investments in our California communities. It’s time for lawmakers to stop protecting corporations and the wealthy and do the necessary work of raising the revenue needed to fully fund schools, healthcare, and all public goods.”

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The 310,000-member CTA is affiliated with the 3-million-member National Education Association.