The Education Funding Crisis Walnut Valley Education Association

The Education Funding Crisis Walnut Valley Education Association

Presented byPresented by

Ron BennettPresident and CEORon BennettPresident and CEO

A State In Crisis

The state’s economic problems are significant and well publicized

The state’s commitment to public education is, however, far below other states

California is near the bottom of the Quality Counts and National Education Association (NEA) rankings of per-student expenditures

The latest recession has caused further dramatic cuts to an already fragile funding model for public education

The cuts are deep, broad, and long lasting

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Education Funding Remains at Risk

California state funding for education was cut by 15% beginning in 2008-09 – five years ago!

And education has contributed about $7 billion per year to resolution of the state’s Budget crisis – a total of more than $35 billion

No other segment of the Budget has been cut anywhere close to that much and most other segments of the budget have actually grown over the five-year period

But the Governor’s challenge is increasingly difficult

Our cyclical economy isn’t cycling fast enough

The state is running out of solutions

We think the Governor is making the most of a bad situation, but it isn’t going to be resolved any time soon

These conditions also apply nationally

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Another “Crisis” Budget

The Budget proposals by both the state and federal government for 2012-13 represent another desperate effort to get through a bad time, not a permanent solution

The California Budget depends on passage of new temporary taxes mid-way through the year

The structural imbalance continues to dog the state’s recovery

The feds are spending 40% more than they are taking in – it will take monumental effort to bridge the gap

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Effect on Local Districts

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Cuts to California School Districts

A 15% cut to the revenue limit beginning in 2008-09

A 19.84 % ongoing cut to most categorical funding beginning in 2008-09

Threats of additional cuts in 2009-10 , 2010-11 and 2011-12 that were reduced or reversed at the last minute

Shift of county mental health responsibilities (AB 3632, Chapter 1747/1984) in 2010-11

“Trigger” cuts in 2011-12 when state revenue projections came in low

$13 per ADA, ongoing

Plus $42 per student in lieu of a cut to transportation dollars

Better than the $300 cut threatened, but still another cut

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Funding Per ADA – Actual vs. Statutory Level

Loss due to midyear cut

$4,866

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Economics Still Drive All Policy Decisions

In both California and Washington, policy is set by budget decisionsThe debate is not driven by policy, it is driven by economics – do we have the money?Economic decisions have led to poor policy results for education

We need a longer school year, not a shorter oneWe need lower class sizes, not higherWe need more options for students, not fewerWe need stability for our professional teachers, administrators and classified staff, not layoff notices

All of these undesirable outcomes are an effort to “do it cheaper,” not “do it better”

The long-term societal and economic impacts of these short-sighted polices will be profound

We will have workforce issues far into the futureA suboptimal workforce leads to more dependence on government, not less

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Bottom Line – Plan for the Long Term

Bottom line, we don’t see a return to the “old normal” any time soon

We think the state and the nation face tremendous challenges and fundamental problems that cannot be resolved with quick fixes

As a result, we think it is time to consider the present situation to be the “new normal” and plan accordingly

We continue to recommend conservative policies at the district level

Others have induced plenty of risk to your district, you don’t need to add any more

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Education Spendingin California

California’s Education Spending Continues to Lag 13

California’s Education Spending 14

California’s Education Spending 15

Choices and Priorities Matter

California demands and deserves a “world-class” education system

The top five states, in terms of student performance, are Vermont, Rhode Island, Wyoming, New Jersey, and Maine

The bottom five are California, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, and Arizona

What’s different?

California has fallen from number one to number 46 in per-ADA funding; and the results bear that out

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Final Thoughts

Public education is totally dependent upon tax dollars; local, state, and federal

Great economics generate more tax dollars for all public sector purposes

Weak economics force tough choices

We don’t see much near-term improvement in either national or state economics

But we also think that education is the key to a vibrant future for America

In five years, no one will remember the recession – so we need to make sure they are still able to READ about it!

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Thank you