Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Despite Last-Minute Changes, Senate Bill Deals Big Blow to Renewable Energy

22 hours ago

Trump-Backed Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Passes US Senate

24 hours ago

Homeland Security Secretary Noem Says CNN May Be Prosecuted Over Report on Migration App

1 day ago

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

1 day ago

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

1 day ago

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

2 days ago

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

2 days ago

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

2 days ago
Walters: How Will California Schools Spend Gusher of Money?
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 4 years ago on
May 25, 2021

Share

During Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 90-minute, superlative-saturated monologue on the virtues of his revised 2021-22 budget this month, he boasted of an historic high in public school spending.

State aid and local property taxes would push per-pupil spending to $14,000, he said, and with federal funds, it would top $20,000 for the first time. Moreover, Newsom’s budget would advance his long-sought goal of offering universal pre-kindergarten programs, and a new notion of making schools centers for community services.

The massive injection of money into schools raises a pungent question: How will they spend it?

Dan Walters

Opinion

Lack of Clarity on How to Address ‘Achievement Gap’

It’s a new version of a long-burning issue, centered on what educators call the “achievement gap” — a wide disparity in learning between poor and English-learner students and their more privileged classmates that has almost certainly worsened during classroom closures.

Nearly a decade ago, former Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature gave schools with large numbers of under-performing students extra money to close the gap. However, he specifically refused to have the state monitor whether it was effective.

Ever since, there’s been a running battle in political and legal arenas, pitting an “equity coalition” of civil rights and education reform groups against the education establishment over how Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is working.

One point of conflict has been the “Local Control and Accountability Plans” (LCAPs) that are supposed to guide how LCFF funds are spent, with critics saying they are often vague and filled with dense educational jargon that makes them useless.

After schools were closed last year due to the pandemic, the legal mandate to write LCAPs was suspended and instead, local schools were to adopt “Learning Continuity Plans” (LCPs) as they temporarily shifted to at-home instruction.

Last week, members of the equity coalition issued a critical report on LCPs’ lack of clarity about “how they were investing money and resources to support California’s most underserved students — leading us to wonder whether they were investing in these supports at all.”

The criticism mirrored the previous clashes over the LCAPs and sets the stage for additional conflict over how schools will spend the gusher of new financing that Newsom is touting.

Holding School Officials Accountable to Spend Money Effectively

The equity coalition likes what Newsom says about using the new revenues for a big push to narrow or close the achievement gap.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine our schools with transformative investments that can ensure all students will thrive,” Erin Apte, legislative counsel for Public Advocates, one of the authors of the new report, said in a statement.

The report from Public Advocates and like-minded groups offers recommendations to help local schools “meet their equity obligations to students and families, strengthen their engagement of key stakeholders, bolster the services and supports they provide to students with unique needs, and improve transparency around public education funding during and in the aftermath of this public health crisis.”

However, as we have seen with the LCFF and what has happened — or not happened — during the pandemic-induced classroom closures, local school officials will be under tremendous pressure to spend the extra money to shore up the status quo, such as salary increases, rather than concentrating on the achievement gap.

The lingering question is whether while crowing about giving schools billions of extra dollars, Newsom is also willing — unlike Brown — to hold them accountable for spending the money effectively.

There is reason to doubt that he will, given his close ties to the education establishment, particularly the California Teachers Association, and his Brown-like penchant for shifting tough decisions to local officials, often chanting “local is determinative” on dicey issues.

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=31]

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

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police to Hold DUI Checkpoint on Independence Day

DON'T MISS

The Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Story: From Recording Studio to Criminal Trial

DON'T MISS

Four Rescued After Kings River Float Turns Dangerous

DON'T MISS

Hamas Says It Is Studying Ceasefire Proposal Labelled ‘Final’ by Trump

DON'T MISS

Wall Street Edges Down After ADP Shock. Focus on Trade Talks, Payrolls Data

DON'T MISS

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Convicted on Prostitution Counts, but Cleared of More Serious Charges

DON'T MISS

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

UP NEXT

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

UP NEXT

Israel Faces Genocide Accusations Amid Gaza Food Aid Killings

UP NEXT

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

UP NEXT

Despite $49M Deficit, Fresno Unified Gives Top Brass 5% Raise, 3% One-Time Bonus

UP NEXT

Why Is Usually Sleepy Fresno County Schools Superintendent Race Suddenly Hot?

UP NEXT

What Does the Fresno County Schools Superintendent Do? Read This Q&A to Find Out

UP NEXT

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

UP NEXT

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

UP NEXT

FTA Unloads on Fresno Unified After Skipping External Search for Chief Academic Officer

UP NEXT

Things Netanyahu Might Say if Injected With Truth Serum

Four Rescued After Kings River Float Turns Dangerous

53 minutes ago

Hamas Says It Is Studying Ceasefire Proposal Labelled ‘Final’ by Trump

1 hour ago

Wall Street Edges Down After ADP Shock. Focus on Trade Talks, Payrolls Data

1 hour ago

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Convicted on Prostitution Counts, but Cleared of More Serious Charges

1 hour ago

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

16 hours ago

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

17 hours ago

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

17 hours ago

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

17 hours ago

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

18 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

18 hours ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

DHARAMSHALA, India  – The elderly Dalai Lama assured his followers on Wednesday that upon his death he would be reincarnated as the ne...

20 minutes ago

Dalai Lama blesses actor Richard Gere in Dharamsala, India June 30, 2025, in this screen grab from a video. Reuters TV/via REUTERS.
20 minutes ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

32 minutes ago

Fresno Police to Hold DUI Checkpoint on Independence Day

Sean "Diddy" Combs was found guilty Wednesday of prostitution-related offenses but acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking, capping a decades-long rise and fall marked by music stardom, legal battles, and abuse allegations. (Shutterstock)
44 minutes ago

The Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Story: From Recording Studio to Criminal Trial

Four young men were rescued from the Kings River in Sanger on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, after getting stranded in rapids, thanks to life jackets, a rescue boat, and a sheriff’s helicopter. (Fresno County SO)
53 minutes ago

Four Rescued After Kings River Float Turns Dangerous

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an overnight Israeli air strike on a tent sheltering displaced people, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
1 hour ago

Hamas Says It Is Studying Ceasefire Proposal Labelled ‘Final’ by Trump

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Jeenah Moon)
1 hour ago

Wall Street Edges Down After ADP Shock. Focus on Trade Talks, Payrolls Data

Sean "Diddy" Combs and his attorney Marc Agnifilo discuss with other defense lawyers on how to respond to a new note sent by jurors, during Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., July 1, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
1 hour ago

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Convicted on Prostitution Counts, but Cleared of More Serious Charges

16 hours ago

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

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

Search

Send this to a friend