| | Published March 13th, 2013
| Assembly Member Joan Buchanan Convenes Education Cabinet
Lamorindans worry that Governor's Local Control Funding Formula could hurt schools
| | By Laurie Snyder |  | | As bad as California's national per pupil spending rank was when California Assembly Member Joan Buchanan spoke before Lamorinda parents in Orinda in October 2012, it's now worse. California has slipped to number 49 - behind Louisiana. Photo Ohlen Alexander
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"We have to go into this with our eyes wide open," said California Assembly Member Joan Buchanan to K-12 education advocates March 1. The summit -Buchanan's Education Cabinet - was not comprised of a B-movie cast of pitchfork-wielding villagers, but did summon the specter of a potential bloodsucker known as the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).
Participating were roughly 50 school administrators and activists, including Orinda Union School District Superintendent Dr. Joe Jaconette and OUSD Board Member Sarah Butler, Acalanes Union High School District Superintendent Dr. John Nickerson, and Lamorinda parent group representatives.
Buchanan, the former San Ramon Valley School Board member who now represents Lamorinda and chairs the Assembly's Education Committee, outlined pending bills on teacher evaluation and dismissal, and discussed Governor Jerry Brown's plan to overhaul K-12 finance. In his recent State of the State, Brown said of his LCFF (formerly known as the Weighted Student Formula), "My 2013 Budget Summary lays out the case for cutting categorical programs and putting maximum authority and discretion back at the local level - with school boards.... This formula recognizes the fact that a child in a family making $20,000 a year or speaking a language different from English or living in a foster home requires more help. Equal treatment for children in unequal situations is not justice."
Buchanan gave Brown points for trying to simplify California's byzantine structure, but is not convinced the rush to repair need be so fast. The system includes more than 60 funding remedies known as "categoricals," which were created with separate accounting rules by legislatures over the years to address everything from administrator training to educational technology and student oral health (www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/).
Ideally, Brown would jettison the mess for a less bewildering structure and restore funds cut previously (assuming there are no future recessions). His base for all districts - possibly fully funded by 2020 - would average roughly $6,800 per pupil for instruction and operations. Lamorinda schools and other "basic aid districts" in higher income areas would receive the base - but next to nothing more - because they theoretically net enough via property taxes and don't need extra help. Supplementary aid would be given, though, to districts with greater numbers of disadvantaged kids.
LCFF - Dracula in Disguise?
Buchanan and attendees worry Brown's reforms could diminish "distinguished schools," rather than lifting up underperforming districts. Because the LCFF gives such broad authority to districts to address local learning problems, several participants wondered whether the supplemental funds would actually reach struggling kids. School administrators would brainstorm with teachers and parents to link budgets and improvement goals and create "accountability plans" for approval at public meetings and by county education offices. But, those dollars might be diverted to fix aging buildings or end up funding trendy programs that don't improve achievement.
Said another, what LCFF proponents are failing to consider is that California kids are not only competing against each other - they are vying against students from other states and countries. If underfunding continues, even students in California's highest performing districts may no longer qualify for admission to the nation's best universities - or for hiring by businesses needing well educated, critical thinkers.
According to the California Budget Project, "A decade of disinvestment has left California's spending for public schools lagging the nation by a number of measures. The Proposition 98 guarantee, designed to ensure a minimum level of funding for California's schools and community colleges, has not prevented significant cuts.... As a result, 2010-11 estimated General Fund spending was lower as a share of the state's economy than in 35 of the prior 40 years." CBP also cites Proposition 13 as another factor.
"The base is not high enough.... It's less than where we were in 2007-08," Nickerson said of the LCFF. Added Jaconette, "Orinda, if not the lowest, will be one of the lowest" county schools, receiving roughly $6,000 per pupil compared to the $11,000 awarded to other districts. Nickerson wants those who think affluent areas will fix things with parcel taxes to get real. Lamorinda, like other basic aid areas, already shoulders a heavy tax burden, and parent fundraisers now cover librarian salaries rather than "extras."
Another flaw is Brown's continuation of categoricals which preserve existing inequities. "We don't seem to want to have the conversation," said Buchanan. "It's more than being poor." Most kids can learn; some are just straight jacketed by life - unequal healthcare, no books at home, parents who work two jobs just to put food on the table. Changing the future for impoverished kids will be a Herculean effort, demanding more than just a diversion of dollars from the 'burbs.
"When it comes to education, we need to get the policy right," stressed Buchanan.
To learn more, Buchanan recommends talking to your school officials, or you can discuss legislative and community issues with Buchanan directly at a free pancake breakfast from 10 a.m. to noon March 16 at the Orinda Community Center. RSVP by calling (925) 328-1515, or online at: www.asmdc.org/kt.
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K-12 Ed Finance Resources
The following websites offer valuable information about school funding and Governor Brown's Local Control Funding Formula:
- School Finance Facts: A Decade of Disinvestment: California Education Spending Nears the Bottom (California Budget Project): www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/111012_Decade_of_Disinvestment_%20SFF.pdf
- District and Charter School Local Control Funding Formula Modeling Estimates (EdSource): http://www.edsource.org/today/wp-content/uploads/LCFF_Funding_Estimates.pdf
- Governor Brown's Local Control Funding Formula and Other Education Trailer Bill Language (California Department of Finance): http://www.dof.ca.gov/budgeting/trailer_bill_language/education/documents/
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA