By January 10th of each year, the Governor of California is required to propose a comprehensive budget for the state’s fiscal year, which runs from July 1st to June 30th. The budget includes an estimate of revenue (or income) that the State expects to receive during the coming fiscal year (primarily taxes and fees) and a proposal for spending that revenue on state services and facilities. For most states, public education is the single largest expenditure in a state’s budget, and California is no exception. Approximately 40% of the State’s annual revenue is required to provide California’s children with the most basic education.

As you probably know, the past few years have been lean ones for California and for our public schools. In light of an improved economic outlook, however, and the clear message sent by voters who rejected Proposition 76 in the November election, Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed to increase education spending in the 2006-2007 fiscal year, with $2.1 billion above the Proposition 98 minimum school funding guarantee.

Of that increase, $1.67 billion is money owed to schools for prior year shortfalls in Prop. 98 funds. It is important to note, however, that this increase in funding repays schools for only about one third of the money Governor Schwarzenegger promised to repay when he cut school funding two years ago to help with the State’s severe budget crisis. Most of the money will go to cover cost of living and enrollment increases and begin to repair the program cuts and deficit spending forced on many districts across the state for the past couple of years. The Governor has earmarked some of the $1.67 billion for various programs such as charter schools, career technical education, enrichment for low-performing schools, and beginning teacher support and assessment.

The remaining $428 million included in the Governor’s education proposal covers the implementation costs of Proposition 49, the After-School Initiative passed by the voters in 2002. Proposition 49 requires the state to begin allocating money for this program once the budget reaches a certain level of spending; this will occur in the 2006-2007 budget.

Of particular interest to Lamorinda and Walnut Creek school districts is the proposal to dedicate $200 million for school district equalization. These are funds used to help “equalize” per pupil funding to districts across the state. Because our districts have historically received less than the state average dollar amount per pupil, equalization funding helps us directly by bringing up the per pupil dollar amount we receive from the state, not only this year but in every year going forward.

Even with the above increases, however, public schools will be operating with significantly less money than current law specifies if the Governor’s budget proposal is approved by the State Legislature. Given the State’s current debt and other fixed obligations, however, it is unlikely that significant increases in public education funding can be achieved without also increasing State revenues. In other words, the California budget still has a structural deficit and the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office recommends paying down existing debt before making new spending commitments.

While things look a little rosier for public education on the state level, we’re seeing a disturbing trend at the federal level. The National PTA reports that, “After almost a decade of markedly increased funding for education, [President] Bush has proposed to cut education funding for the second year in a row. In his FY07 budget, Bush proposes to cut $2.1 billion, or 3.8 percent, from education funding. This comes on top of the $624 million funding cut for the U.S. Department of Education in fiscal year 2006 (FY06)— a cut passed in December 2005."

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal education program that has perhaps the most direct effect on our local school districts’ budgets. Under this federal law, states are required to provide special services to students needing additional support. The law also stipulates that the federal government provide 40% of the cost of these services, while states are responsible for the remaining 60%. Unfortunately, the federal government has never even come close to providing its authorized 40% of the expenses for this program, and this year it will provide less than 18% of the cost, down from 18.6% last year. Since these special services are mandated by law, any cut in federal spending has to be made up by local school districts, usually from their general fund; thus, every student is affected by this funding cut.

Several months of debate and negotiation remain before the required passage of the California budget by June 15, 2006. The Las Trampas Creek Council of PTAs Legislation Team will continue to keep readers posted on developments in the budget negotiations by way of this newsletter.

The federal government is also making progress on crafting a new budget. The Senate Budget Committee has put out a proposal to the full Senate, and the Senate is expected to begin voting as we go press. For more details and updates on the federal education budget please sign up to receive the National PTA weekly newsletter from Washington.

You can support your school and district by taking time to understand the various components of the education budget proposals and being prepared to voice your opinion as the time for the State budget adoption approaches this summer. One of the best ways to learn more about funding issues is to participate in the PTA's 26th annual Advocacy Day on April 26. You can also link to our website or call your district superintendent for additional details about how the proposed budgets will affect the Acalanes, Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda, and Walnut Creek school districts.