Topic: Education Funding
Bilingual education back in national spotlight
Where will we find enough multilingual teachers amidst shortage?
Last November, California voters passed Proposition 58 — the Language Education, Acquisition and Readiness Now initiative, or LEARN — by the largest margin of any measure on the ballot.
Today, the CFT and community organizations are working with state education officials and local school districts to revive and update bilingual programs mothballed after voters passed Proposition 227 in 1998.
State Education Budget: Highlights and lowlights in governor’s initial proposal
On January 10, Gov. Brown released his proposed budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year amidst uncertainty about how federal actions may impact California. Federal funds currently account for more than one-third of the state budget, and according to the California Budget & Policy Center, 7.9 percent of federal dollars currently go to K-12 education and 5.2 percent to higher education.
We can’t afford to go back – Proposition 55 sails to victory
School and college funding secured
In a crowded field of 17 propositions on the statewide ballot November 8, voters clearly saw the value of publicly funded education and passed CFT’s top priority, Proposition 55, with an impressive 24-point margin.
Top priorities Propositions 55 and 58 sail to victory in 2016
In a crowded field of 17 propositions on the statewide ballot, voters clearly saw the value of publicly funded education and passed CFT’s top priority, Proposition 55, with an impressive 24-point margin.
Prop 55 will ensure continued funding for schools and community colleges at the rate of roughly $8 billion a year by maintaining the existing income tax on the wealthiest Californians through 2030. Victory on Prop 55 was critical, and now districts and unions will be able to determine spending without the fear of layoffs, program cuts or eliminations, or student fee increases.
Yes on Proposition 55: We can’t go back
What difference has Proposition 30 meant for public education in California?
A deluge of March 15 layoff notices removed one in 10 teachers from K-12 classrooms between 2008 and 2011. In Watsonville, Pajaro Valley Unified sent 158 notices in 2010-11. And this year? None.
CFT leaders help launch Prop 55 campaign
Supporters of Proposition 55, including educators, elected officials, parents and other community representatives, held a press conference in front of Hamilton High School in Los Angeles on August 15, kicking off the local campaign for the ballot initiative that will protect schools and students from losing up to $4 billion per year.
Campaign kick-off for Prop 30 extension, now Proposition 55
On May 11, in front of Sacramento’s California Middle School, leaders and members of unions and community groups stood before a large group of reporters and announced that the coalition they belonged to had just turned in more than a million signatures to place the “California Children’s Education and Health Care Protection Act” (now Proposition 55) on the November state ballot.
State budget: Governor says voters need to renew Prop. 30 extension
How does the May Revision stack up for educators?
Gov. Brown made it clear in his May Revision that unless voters renew Proposition 30 in November, California will have to make budget cuts in future years.
Prop. 30 extension qualifies for November election
Campaign to keep public education funded kicks into high gear
On May 11, a coalition of unions and community groups announced that it had submitted more than a million signatures to place the “California Children’s Education and Health Care Protection Act” on the November ballot to continue the funding benefits of Proposition 30.
Crisis in the classroom: California confronts teacher shortage
Poor working conditions, modest pay, and teacher bashing exact a toll
A decade of bashing teachers has left California and the nation with a dire shortage. Demand for K-12 teachers has increased while the new teacher supply is at a 12-year low.
Enrollment in California’s teacher preparation programs has dropped by 76 percent over the last decade, far below what is needed to fill vacancies, according to Linda Darling-Hammond, faculty director at the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education.
Higher education should be free…and it’s within our reach
Candidates don’t go far enough; social movement needed to force issue
Bernie says higher education should be free. Hillary says students should be debt-free when they graduate. Bob Samuels, president of the University Council-AFT, welcomes this debate, but says neither Democratic presidential candidate goes far enough.
San Diego piloting move to make community college free
Can the goals of California’s Master Plan for Higher Education be fulfilled again?
The San Diego Community College District has joined the states of Tennessee and Oregon in implementing free community college. In February Chancellor Constance Carroll announced that 200 students would have their course fees waived for the 2016-17 academic year.
Why did the university refuse $25 million in state funding?
UC dependence on high out-of-state enrollment fees is promoting inequality
Top University of California administrators made headlines in August when they declined the offer by state legislators to provide the system an additional $25 million. The offer was contingent on the university accepting another 5000 in-state resident students.
Prop. 30 delivers salary relief in recent contracts
After years of stagnant wages, classified employees are finally seeing long-overdue salary relief in recent months.
The raises largely result from the CFT campaign two years ago to pass Proposition 30. This year, the governor’s budget included $5.6 billion in additional funding for K-14 education. Prop. 30 will generate an average of about $6 billion per year for seven years.
University of California fails to solve campus funding inequities
Influx of non-resident tuition income outstrips new rebenching funds
Two years ago, the University of California system changed the way it distributes state funds and tuition revenue to the campuses. In the past, all tuition dollars and state dollars were sent to the Office of the President and redistributed according to unknown formulas.
California districts roll out LCAPs to mixed reviews
Degree of teacher and classified input to local plans varies widely
Ray Gaer sees the Local Control Accountability Plan, or LCAP, as “a different forum for unions to talk about things that matter and an opportunity to build more cooperative relationships. The president of the ABC Federation of Teachers says, “We can talk about how programs are selected and developed and how money is spent before getting to the bargaining table.”
Local Control Funding Formula: New regulations specify use of funds for targeted students
On January 16, the State Board of Education adopted emergency spending regulations for the supplemental and concentration grant funds that Local Educational Agencies (districts, county offices of education and some charter schools) will receive under the Local Control Funding Formula.
Proposition 30 leads way to fiscal recovery
Public school educators face a new threat in the form of the Vergara v. California lawsuit, which aims to declare unconstitutional five provisions of the Education Code that ensure seniority, due process and other rights for K-12 teachers.
CFT campaigns to bring back nurses, libraries
Union-sponsored legislation inspired by labor-community vision
The CFT has launched an ambitious legislative initiative for K-12 schools called Healthy Kids, Healthy Minds, which is embodied in the new union-sponsored bill, AB 1955, carried by Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, a pediatrician with a track record of improving health in local neighborhoods.
Historic funding change includes district accountability plans
The new Local Control Funding Formula brings significant opportunities for educators and their unions
Under the LCFF, the governing boards of districts, county offices of education and charter schools, known as Local Education Agencies, are required to adopt a Local Control Accountability Plan every three years starting in July 2014.