In Sacramento's desperate attempts to balance the state's budget, California's K-12 public schools and community colleges have been especially hard hit compared to reductions in funding for all other state programs.
That's according to calculations by Strategic Education Services, an influential lobbying firm representing large urban school districts like Los Angeles, Santa Ana and San Bernardino. It points out that the amount of basic support provided by the state for K-14 education (through so-called Proposition 98 funds) declined by $6.9 billion from the 2007-08 fiscal year to the current 2010-11 school year.
That comes to a reduction of 12 percent in funding from the state's general fund – compared to a reduction of a mere $600 million, or 0.7 percent in the rest of state's general fund budget.
"The Legislature claims that its number one priority is educational funding for the schools, but the reality is that its number one priority are other state programs, and the evidence of that is that they have cut education funding by $6.9 billion," said Stephen Rhoads, a legislative advocate for Strategic Education Services.
Rhoads said his calculations, outlined in a memo circulating in Sacramento this week, are based on recent reports [PDF] produced by the Legislative Analyst's Office.
School financing is the most complex, and opaque, part of the state budget, so there will always be disagreements over how to interpret just about any school-related figure.
So, it is not surprising that the Legislative Analyst's Office, tasked with analyzing all aspects of the state budget, is not in complete agreement with Strategic Education Services' analysis.
Edgar Cabral, a senior fiscal and policy analyst with the LAO, told California Watch that the firm's calculations don't include substantial federal stimulus funds as well as other federal funds school districts received, such as Title I funds for poor children and for special education.
So, Cabral said, the actual reduction in funds experienced by school districts, if federal funds are included in the calculations, has been 7 percent, rather than 12 percent, since 2007-08 in actual, non-inflation adjusted dollars. "A lot of school districts have been able to ward off some of the cuts" by using these federal funds, he said.
But that is still a substantial reduction. And, explained Rhoads, the point of his calculation was to illustrate the state's sinking commitment to public education, not how much money the federal government was investing in it.
A big part of the problem is that Proposition 98, approved by voters in 1988, was intended to guarantee a minimum portion of the state's general fund to schools and community colleges each year. Instead, it has in effect been used by the Legislature and California governors to establish the maximum amount schools receive – a ceiling rather than a floor, as budget analysts like to say.
In fact, at an EdSource conference earlier this year, Mac Taylor, the legislative analyst, argued that Proposition 98 has turned out to be a "disaster" [PDF] for public education. A major reason is that it linked school funding to the state's general fund, which during tough economic times invariably goes down, dragging school funding down with it.
"You thought Prop. 98 was going to guarantee a stable source of funding," Taylor said, addressing his remarks to education advocates in the audience:
In fact, just the opposite has happened. You've linked your future to the general fund (through Prop. 98). What has happened to our general fund since 1988 is that it has gotten incredibly more volatile. As personal income goes up and down, the state's revenue structure can fluctuate by a factor of that. ... That's because the state's general fund is highly dependent on the personal income tax. It is time to have a serious discussion about whether Prop. 98 suits your purposes or the state's purposes.
Rhoads also pointed out that the future outlook for the schools is even grimmer for the coming school year. That's because $8 billion in taxes and revenues approved by the Legislature in 2009-10 expire at the end of the current (2010-11) school year. The LAO projects that Prop. 98 funds from the general fund for schools will decline by $2.2 billion, for an additional 4 percent reduction.
These are the realities that incoming Gov. Jerry Brown will have to grapple with – and and that presumably will be highlighted at the forum he will host on education financing in Los Angeles on December 12 in Los Angeles. Watch it on the California Channel.
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