Gov. Jerry Brown

Gov. Jerry Brownish

Democrats in the Legislature may find themselves at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on two issues that will factor large when Brown reveals his revised state budget Tuesday: how to spend billions in unanticipated acquirement and how to reshape Brown'south sweeping programme for funding K-12 education.

As of now, the state is on target to collect $4.5 billion more than expected in personal income taxes, co-ordinate to the Legislative Analyst'due south Office. Democratic leaders in the Legislature have no shortage of ways they'd like to meet that money spent, such as expanding mental wellness intendance, restoring adult dental care, eliminating fees for preschool that went into effect this yr, and providing more state aid for higher students.

The problem for them is that equally much as ninety percent of that extra money may be legally bound for Thou-12 and community colleges. Normally, nether Proffer 98 (subsequently modified by Proposition 111), which defines spending minimums for education, school districts and community colleges can count on most xl cents of every dollar in country revenue. But when times are adept, equally they are this twelvemonth, and the state owes districts for past cuts and missed cost-of-living increases, as is the case, then it can rising to 90 cents on a dollar.

Of course, with all things Proposition 98, these figures are discipline to interpretation/manipulation past the Section of Finance based on technicalities of the law. So some money could terminate upwards on the non-Prop. 98 side of the ledger.

The LAO has concluded that the extra revenue is a 1-fourth dimension bump, resulting from wealthy individuals cashing out capital gains and dividends before higher federal taxes for upper-income earners went into consequence in January.The ever-prudent Brownish will likely hold that this money won't exist recurring.

Both Sen. Carol Liu, D-Pasadena, and Assemblymember Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, who chair the education committees in the Senate and Associates, accept chosen for using a piece of the windfall to aid school districts train teachers and acquire applied science and materials needed to implement the Mutual Core standards. But Brown instead may want to speed up paying off $half-dozen billion in late payments to schools, known equally deferrals; he has said that's his priority. Accelerating the scheduled payoff will gratis upwardly more than money for the classroom sooner than Brownish had projected. It as well would quicken the implementation of Brown's Local Control Funding Formula, or LCFF, which Dark-brown has projected to be phased in over seven years.

Will Dark-brown compromise on the funding formula?

The other large question is how much Chocolate-brown will alter the LCFF to accommodate critics within his own party. Probably not much, based on his full-throttle defense of his proposal at a press conference two weeks agone. He vowed and so "to fight with everything I have and whatever we have to bring to deport" to laissez passer his plan as is. Few wait that will be the final word, though, as the LCFF goes through negotiations.

Brown is proposing a compatible base spending amount per student: nigh $6,800 per student in one case fully phased in. He'd steer an additional 35 per centum for every low-income student and English learner: from $ii,220 for those in K-3 to $ii,688 for those in loftier school. On top of this supplement, Brown is proposing a "concentration grant," a bonus per student for those districts in which high-needs students make upwardly at least a majority.

Democrats have praised the framework of the LCFF: simplifying and making funding more uniform; targeting more money to disadvantaged youth; shifting more control over dollars from Sacramento to the districts. But Senate Democrats take proposed changes to the formula, and Assembly Democratic leaders, while non laying out an culling, have raised similar concerns. Here are iv problems that Brownish may address in the revised budget tomorrow:

  • Volition the base of operations be raised?

Brownish has said that no district will get less money under the formula and that districts' pre-recession base spending, plus COLAs, volition exist restored. Just suburban districts with few high-needs students argue that they won't actually be held harmless and instead will lose hundreds of dollars per educatee.

  • Volition he modify the concentration factor?

Senate Democrats aren't persuaded that this money, to counter the impact of living in loftier-poverty neighborhoods, is needed or distributed wisely; Brown wants to allocate it by district, not by school site. They're proposing to rechannel the money to increase the base of operations spending for all students and the supplement for disadvantaged children. Brown could compromise by limiting the bonus money simply to districts with the highest concentrations of targeted students.

  • Volition he stiffen accountability provisions?

Under his principle of local control, Brown would give districts more power to spend money as they choose. To ensure that supplemental dollars are spent on the intended students, he would require that district write a detailed spending and academic plan, with the money tied to academic improvement. Canton offices of education would examine the plan.

But not simply legislators but also advocates for poor kids and English learners want tighter requirements; Senate Democrats would reimpose state controls if the actress coin doesn't bring results.

  • Volition he remove some programs from the formula?

Dark-brown has excluded two large categorical programs, totaling $one.three billion, from formula: dwelling to schoolhouse transportation and desegregation dollars, chosen TIIG. The LAO and Public Policy Institute of California contend those formulas are inequitable already and shouldn't be protected. Advocates of instructor preparation and career technical training say funding for these legislative priorities should be preserved and not left to local control. The one area that Brown is expected to substantially revise is adult education (encounter sidebar).

To get more reports like this one, click here to sign upward for EdSource's no-toll daily email on latest developments in didactics.