Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

10 hours ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

11 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

14 hours ago

Elon Musk Says Senate Bill Would Destroy Jobs and Harm US

14 hours ago

Israel Strikes Pound Gaza, Killing 60, Ahead of US Talks on Ceasefire

16 hours ago

Trump’s Administration Finds Harvard Violated Students’ Civil Rights, WSJ Reports

16 hours ago

How Did the Supreme Court Rule? Here’s a Look at the Big Cases

3 days ago
Walters: Achievement Gap Question Still Unanswered
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 6 years ago on
August 10, 2019

Share

As a species, politicians tend to like inputs more than outcomes.
It’s more fun, in political terms, to appropriate money for a new program or cut the ribbon of a new public works project than it is to delve into whether they actually performed as promised, and take responsibility for those results.


Dan Walters
CALmatters

The $80 billion in state and local tax funds being spent this year on six-plus million K-12 students is a very obvious example.
Six years ago, then-Gov. Jerry Brown sponsored a massive overhaul of school finance. It eliminated almost all “categorical aids” – allocations for specific educational purposes – and provided extra funds for school districts with large numbers of “high-needs” students, those from poor families, foster children and/or “English-learners.”
The Local Control Funding Formula or LCFF was aimed at narrowing the “achievement gap” in learning that separates the 3.5-plus million targeted kids from their more privileged classmates.
One might think that having redirected many billions of dollars to close the achievement gap, Brown and other politicians would be eager to know how the money was being spent by local school officials and whether it was having any beneficial impact.
Nope.

Six Years Later, Question Remains Unanswered

Brown specifically rejected more direct accountability for LCFF spending, saying he trusted local educators to do the right thing and rebuffing demands by school reform groups and some legislators for more information and oversight.
He had the implicit support of the state’s education establishment, both administrators and school unions, for that hands-off attitude and the state Board of Education Brown appointed adopted a convoluted “accountability” system that makes true accountability impossible.
So six years later, the question remains unanswered: Is LCFF actually improving the educations of high-needs kids or has the money just disappeared down the rathole?
The Public Policy Institute of California took a stab at it last week in a report, concluding basically that some of the money had reached the targeted students, perhaps $500 more per pupil per year. But it offered no conclusion about outcomes.
The PPIC report buttressed demands for more detailed information, saying that “due to a lack of comprehensive school-level financial data, it is difficult to measure spending within districts or determine whether funds are reaching the students and schools with the highest need.”
There is good reason to suspect that in many districts, particularly large urban systems, the money has been diverted.

Two Recent Developments May Fill Accountability Void

Recently – and not for the first time – civil rights and school reform advocates complained that the state’s largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, with 80 percent of its students meeting high-needs criteria, has fudged on its mandatory reports of how LCFF money is being spent.

While Brown stifled calls for a comprehensive data system to track how well students are faring, successor Gavin Newsom supports it in his first budget.
The complaint, filed with the state Department of Education, is likely a precursor to a lawsuit.
It’s noteworthy that a similar complaint was filed against the district several years ago and was upheld by state education officials. But the Department of Education, then headed by Tom Torlakson, subsequently advised the district on how it could avoid penalties by altering the official descriptions of expenditures found to be improper.
The paper changes were made, LA Unified avoided sanctions and, it appears from the new complaint, continued doing business as usual.
Two recent developments may fill the accountability void.
While Brown stifled calls for a comprehensive data system to track how well students are faring, successor Gavin Newsom supports it in his first budget.
The Legislature, meanwhile, has directed the state auditor, Elaine Howle, to delve into how LCFF money is being spent and whether it is doing what it purports to do.
CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary
[activecampaign form=19]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

DON'T MISS

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

DON'T MISS

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

DON'T MISS

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

DON'T MISS

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

DON'T MISS

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

DON'T MISS

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

DON'T MISS

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

UP NEXT

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

UP NEXT

Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City

UP NEXT

Things Netanyahu Might Say if Injected With Truth Serum

UP NEXT

California Politicians Ignore Ag’s Troubles, but Boost Movie Business

UP NEXT

Trump’s Courageous and Correct Decision to Bomb Iran

UP NEXT

How the Attacks on Iran Are Part of a Much Bigger Global Struggle

UP NEXT

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

UP NEXT

California Politicians Agree on School Money, but Poor Test Scores Need Attention

UP NEXT

Sen. Alex Padilla: This Is How an Administration Acts When It’s Afraid

UP NEXT

Bay Area Transit Systems Want More Money. But Their Payrolls Soared as Ridership Declined

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

8 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

8 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

8 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

9 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

9 hours ago

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

9 hours ago

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

9 hours ago

DOJ Announces Arrest, Indictments in North Korean IT Worker Scheme

9 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Clovis for Sex-Related Crimes Against Minor

9 hours ago

Dyer’s Lobbying Works. Fresno Gets $100M for Downtown From State

9 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

The Clovis Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating an at-risk missing adult last seen on Thursday. Pathmani Goonawarde...

7 hours ago

Clovis Police are searching for Pathmani Goonawardena, 82, who went missing nearly three weeks ago and was last seen driving a white Volvo near Copper and Auberry, possibly en route to Coarsegold. (CHP)
7 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

fresno
7 hours ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

8 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

Bryan Koberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, listens during a hearing to overturn his grand jury indictment in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., October 26, 2023. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

The Blanca Fire, burning 12 acres northwest of Lake Madera Country Estates in Madera County, remains active with 0% containment and no reported injuries or structural damage as the cause is under investigation as of Monday, June 30, 2025. (CalFire)
8 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

Fresno County CHP arrested two on Interstate 5 after finding about one kilogram of suspected cocaine, a loaded ghost gun, and counterfeit money during a vehicle search on Sunday, June 29, 2025. (CHP)
9 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

Gov. Newsom warns Californians to celebrate the Fourth of July safely, emphasizing zero tolerance for illegal fireworks which have surged to over 600,000 pounds seized this year. (Shutterstock)
9 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend