Brown Earmarks Windfall for Onetime Education Expenses

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published May 14, 2013.

A windfall of tax money this year may be used for one-time education expenditures, but 2013-14 year will bring in fewer dollars for schools across the state, according to Gov. Brown’s revised California budget.

“For the first time in more than a decade, we have a balanced budget and it’s solid,” Brown said Tuesday while introducing the budget, which earmarks $70 billion for K-12 education.

The Legislature still has to sign off on the proposal, but school districts across the state can now plan for the next school year with more realistic figures. School boards must approve their budgets by June 30.

The state this year is experiencing a surplus of about $2.8 billion, said Ana J. Matosantos, finance director for California. Under Prop. 111, after lean years, such new money must be earmarked for schools. For 2012-13, that means an extra $2.9 billion will go to education.

But because a drop in tax revenue is expected in 2013-14, Brown wants to spend this year's surplus on onetime programs.

For example, $748 million of the surplus would be used to pay down debt the state has incurred in funding education in recent years. During the economic crisis, the state had a habit of delaying funding to school districts, sometimes into the next fiscal year. The $748 million will help the state break that cycle.

And $1 billion would go to train teachers to deal with a plan to switch to national standards, called the Common Core.

“Common Core is a challenging intellectual exercise that our 30,000 teachers are going to have to go through. It’s going to take training, and it’s going to take time,” Brown said.

California schools chief Tom Torlakson cheered news of $1 billion for Common Core training. In a press release, the state superintendent for public instruction said, “These funds will help California’s schools prepare children for the challenges of a constantly changing world, and graduate armed with the real-world skills they need to thrive in college and a career.”

Brown cautioned against over-optimism about additional money coming from Prop. 30, the measure for temporary tax increases passed by state voters in November, calling for prudence, not exuberance.

“We have climbed out of the hole with the Prop. 30 tax. That’s good, but this is not the time to break out a bottle of champagne.”

Lower tax revenues are expected to come in 2013-14 because household incomes are projected to fall, even as more people are working, Brown said. Matosantos said the newly employed are working fewer hours.

Brown is continuing to push for educational reforms that would send more money to school districts that serve students who are learning English, are in foster care or are on reduced-fee lunches.

“I think it’s fair. I think it’s just, and I think it has great moral force,” Brown said, adding that the state get more educational “bang for your buck” when funds are concentrated on the neediest.

On Tuesday, he announced some tweaks to his plan to reform school finance, which will be phased in over seven years. At completion, 80 percent of educational dollars would be spent on all California students. Another 16 percent would go to students who qualify as needy. Finally, 4 percent would go to school districts in which at least 50 percent of students are English learners, lower income or foster children.

“Everyone is going to do better but some are going to do considerably better,” Brown said of the long-term outlook for schoolchildren.You can read more about the May budget revision here.