Understanding Republican Legislators’ Budget Proposals for California’s Schools—and What is Really Still Missing

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By John Laird
Chair
Assembly Budget Committee

Last week Assembly and Senate Republicans presented their education budget proposal. This is a welcome move, as it shows they are concerned about the need to raise California's school funding levels out of the basement in national ranking—and it shows they're ready to engage in the discussion about how to solve California's budget crisis.

The Governor's January budget proposes to cut school funding by $4.8 billion. The legislative Republican proposal would restore only $2.1 billion of this reduction. By shifting funds around and making accounting changes legislative Republicans believe their proposal funds Proposition 98, the voter-approved minimum funding guarantee for schools. But what our schools need is not a reinterpretation of Proposition 98 formulas—what they need is adequate funding.

In their press conference releasing the proposal, they indicated their commitment to “maximize classroom funding,” and “hold schools harmless.” The challenge is to understand how they would do this given the fact that their proposal is still substantially below current education support.

And the only way to accomplish even this partial restoration of the governor's proposed cut is to cut other programs that benefit children throughout the state budget—such as child care and health care. And those cuts would have to go even deeper than the 10% across-the-board cuts the governor has already proposed.

I am glad the Republicans share our goal of protecting schools in our current dire fiscal crisis. Part of the Republican proposal—cutting critical programs, shifting accounting methods and eliminating the Quality Education Investment Act—runs counter to that important goal. And while we should consider education reforms that provide more local control, such reforms should not be an excuse or political cover for major cuts to our schools.