As a news junkie, I thrive on factoids that seem contrary to the general wisdom or prevailing thought. Courtesy of yesterday's Wall Street Journal's editorial "California Party Time", we have just such a clarion call of insight. The main message of the piece was that California got away with Gov. Brown's tax rate increases due to the boom in Silicon Valley unlike Illinois, Connecticut or Maryland who tried the same tactic without the innovative private sector to pick up the pieces. It goes on to describe the various ways the Guv and the legislature wants to spend it (vs. saving it in the "rainy day fund"). But the kicker is this:
The boom has been especially sweet for teachers unions because under the state constitution schools are entitled to most of the haul. Over the past four years state spending on K-12 and community colleges has grown by 45% to $68 billion this year.
That is an amazing statistic. There is no mention of how much of that has made its way into the classroom, but any way you look at it, that is a real increase.
Fyi, one of the provisions of the state's "rainy day fund" that voters approved last November, though not widely understood, was a cap on how much school districts can keep in their reserve fund (I believe it's now limited to 6%). My understanding is that this was negotiated by the teacher's union as a way to force school districts to spend money on teachers' salaries, rather than keeping it in reserve. In the case of Burlingame, the board's wise use of reserves during the Great Recession is part of the reason BSD was able to avoid the kinds of severe cuts that neighboring districts are still dealing with. So the state's rainy day fund is a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing so far as prudent long-term management of local school finances goes. No need to connect the dots for this audience on how all of this can play out in terms of property values.
Posted by: David | June 02, 2015 at 09:29 PM
Today's Times/Merc has the headline:
California Test Scores in the Cellar
California students continue to perform near the bottom of states in reading and math, 2015 test results released Wednesday show. And even when taking into account factors like the predominance of English learners and poor children, a new analysis indicates that the state would still end up in the academic cellar.
What's sometimes called the Nation's Report Card, a sampling of fourth- and eighth-graders in reading and math, painted a dismal picture of a state that insists it is prioritizing K-12 education, on which it is spending $53 billion this fiscal year.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_29033655/california-test-scores-cellar?source=most_viewed
So one source says $68 billion, the other says $53 billion. Who do you believe?
Posted by: Joe | October 28, 2015 at 02:39 PM
Joe, perhaps the source of the CULTURE that has lead California schools into the cellar is closer to home than most Burlingamers realize:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/California+Teachers+Association/@37.5951467,-122.387621,3a,75y,117h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sLn-b3C8hKBoKNWAE1v88dw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DLn-b3C8hKBoKNWAE1v88dw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.TACTILE.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D117.12461%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x808f77b3b10f6351:0x6b561261887b079!6m1!1e1
Group Think, Bullies Running / Ruining The Teachers Union and Bullies Running / Ruining the School Boards, encouraging and allowing Imported Gang Culture...
What a difference "Diversity of Perspective" would make in our California government. And, YOU, can make a difference this week with your vote.
Please VOTE OUT the very arrogant school board incumbents:
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2015-01-17/senator-blasts-school-officials-jerry-hill-wants-civil-grand-jury-to-look-into-district-actions-conduct/1776425136836.html
Posted by: The Messenger | October 28, 2015 at 03:33 PM
From today's Daily Journal:
High school district officials backed away from polling voter support for a potential bond measure due to fear of harming other local school systems’ pursuit of similar financing initiatives.
The San Mateo Union High School District quashed a proposal to pay $32,700 for a survey gauging voter enthusiasm toward a bond proposal which could have been floated to the fall ballot.
Trustees said they shied from the proposal during a Thursday, April 19, meeting under concerns of adversely impacting opportunities for local school districts also examining tax measures.
https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/high-school-district-s-tax-plan-on-hold/article_d4c836d6-476f-11e8-83d3-5be6dc600876.html
Posted by: Joe | April 24, 2018 at 12:04 PM