California student enrollment is going down. It is expected to be 10% less in five years. But, the Hollywood Slicky is demanding that MORE money be spent—on such curriculum as teaching hates, racism and sexual proclivities. California government schools are teaching that math is racist—and our Founding Fathers were terrible people.
“Gov. Gavin Newsom would protect schools and community colleges from nearly all of the impact of an $11.3 billion projected drop in state revenue for education, under a proposed 2024-25 state budget he released on Wednesday.
The three-year decline in revenue, both for schools and the overall $38.7 billion in the state General Fund, is far less than the Legislative Analyst’s Office had projected a month ago, easing the burden of balancing the budget and avoiding the possibility of drastic budget cuts or late payments – at least for community colleges and TK-12.
Why is the deficit less? Newsom took $13 billion from the State’s $26 billion Reserve—and then played with the numbers. He increased the projected revenues—even though they are going down. In other words, like a con man getting a loan, he is fudging the books. In real life, he would go to jail. In this world, he gets to run for President.
Gov. Newsom proposes to shield schools, community colleges from drop in state revenue
5% promised funding for UC, CSU would be deferred for a year
JOHN FENSTERWALD, EdSource, 1/10/24 https://edsource.org/2024/gov-newsom-proposes-to-shield-schools-community-colleges-from-drop-in-state-revenue/703711
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Gov. Gavin Newsom would protect schools and community colleges from nearly all of the impact of an $11.3 billion projected drop in state revenue for education, under a proposed 2024-25 state budget he released on Wednesday.
The three-year decline in revenue, both for schools and the overall $38.7 billion in the state General Fund, is far less than the Legislative Analyst’s Office had projected a month ago, easing the burden of balancing the budget and avoiding the possibility of drastic budget cuts or late payments – at least for community colleges and TK-12.
However, Newsom is proposing to defer promised 5% increases in revenue to both the University of California and California State University systems. In 2022, Newsom made agreements with both university systems to give annual 5% base funding increases over a five-year period if they continued to increase enrollment and graduation rates. Under Newsom’s latest proposal, UC and CSU would borrow a combined $499 million this year and get reimbursed in next year’s budget. That includes the 5% revenue increases as well as $31 million for UC to increase enrollment of resident undergraduate students.
“We are deferring but not delaying, and there’s a distinction in the law that will allow UC and CSU just for one year to be able to borrow against that commitment,” Newsom said.
Newsom would protect schools and community colleges by withdrawing $7 billion from the $10.8 billion state’s separate TK-14 rainy day fund to cover the gap between the new, revised Proposition revenues and what had already been appropriated for Proposition 98 for the past two years.
Prop. 98 is the funding formula that determines the portion of the state’s General Fund that must be spent on TK-12 and community colleges. With the addition of transitional kindergarten, that share will rise about 1 percentage point to 39.5% of the General Fund. In
2024-25, Prop. 98 will be $109.1 billion. That would be about $1 billion more than the Legislature appropriated for 2023-24, reflecting expectations of improved state revenues in the next fiscal year.
Chiding the “ready, fire, aim” projections of the news media and others for a more dire financial outlook without the latest data, Newsom said more optimistic revenue projections for next year and savings in state government operations would account for two-thirds of the difference between the state Department of Finance projections and the legislative analyst’s forecast. Lower state spending for Prop. 98 of $10 billion over three years accounted for the rest of the disparity. Diverting money from the rainy day fund would make up for that loss.
Newsom’s January budget will now undergo six months of negotiations with the Legislature over their priorities. Revenue updates by June will reveal whether his optimism will hold up.
Newsom reiterated that the state would uphold its education commitments to schools using record post-Covid revenues. These include the addition of TK and appropriating $8 billion combined to create community schools and add summer school enrichment programs and after-school hours for low-income students. These would continue to be funded at promised levels.
Despite $6 billion in one-time state funding for post-pandemic learning recovery funding, chronic absences soared to 30% in 2022-23 and remained high last year. Post-pandemic test scores also plummeted in math and English language arts in 2022-23 statewide and largely remained flat last year.
Recognizing that students can’t learn when they aren’t in school, Newsom is proposing statutory changes that will allow school districts to provide attendance recovery programs in response to chronic absences and continued loss in learning. Districts, in turn, would benefit from offsetting revenues lost from student absences. They could add Saturday programs and intercessions for students with absences.
And in a new approach, districts would be required to offer students with access to remote instructions or empower families to enroll in neighboring districts “for emergencies” lasting five or more days.
Newsom also proposes to relax some requirements to become a teacher, due to a persistent teacher shortage. Teacher candidates will no longer have to take a test or coursework to prove they have the basic skills to earn a credential, according to the state summary of the budget. The state will now recognize completion of a bachelor’s degree as satisfying the basic skills requirement.
Currently teacher candidates must pass the California Basic Educational Skills Test, a combination of other tests or complete specific coursework to prove they have the basic skills to teach. The CBEST tests reading, math and writing skills and is usually taken before a student is accepted into a teacher preparation program.
The budget summary also refers to several other proposals that will make it easier to become a teacher, although it offered no additional details about those proposals.
