California: Continued Funding Increases Highlight Continuing Concerns

Earlier this month, Governor Jerry Brown unveiled his budget proposal for the 2016 fiscal year. Although this budget will be revised to account for the upcoming tax season, it is clear that increased funding for education remains a priority for Governor Brown.

California State Funding Towards Education Since 2001. From NPR's California Report. http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/01/31/schools-enjoy-rise-in-state-funding-but-pension-costs-and-recession-worries-loom-large

Although the increase in projected funding was met with mixed reviews from various members of state government (which unsurprisingly seemed split buy party lines), most within the realm of education have been relatively supportive of Governor's Brown's commitment to increased funding. How could they not be? As the graphic above shows, education spending is well above even those years before the 2008 financial downturn.

Many experts, however, remain skeptical about the long-term feasibility of the funding bubble that the chart seems to depict. A recent story from KQED's California Report highlights many of these concerns.

Schools Enjoy Funding Boost, But Long-Term Costs and Recession Worries Loom

Most notable of these anxieties:

• Increased funding is directly linked to Governor Brown's tax measures in Proposition 30. Approved in 2012 by voters, this law increased personal income tax rates on individuals making over $250,000 per year and also increased the sales tax each year through 2016. While these increased tax measures are still projected to create additional funding for California schools in the upcoming years, the law expires at the end of 2018--meaning that state legislators will need to enact a new law or find new sources of funding.

• Connected to this funding concern is the on-going pension dilemma created in-part from the 2008 recession. Again, while increased state funding from Prop 30 helps alleviate some of this debt, many are concerned about what will happen after that increased revenue stream is run dry--a situation that could occur at any time before 2019 given the always volatile nature of the state's economy.

While these issues will (hopefully) create a sense of urgency within Sacramento, this skepticism speaks to a much larger issue with regards to education funding in California. Specifically, these issues highlight the perils of relying almost exclusively on state revenue streams (as opposed to more local sources) for the majority of funding. Again, while the recent Prop 30 tax increases have significantly raised revenue for education, this system leaves funding in a delicate balance in Sacramento--one that can be easily and dramatically tilted by the legislative process and/or another economic downturn (as seen in the large dip that took between the years 2008-2012 in the above graph). 

Although this balance is rooted in a variety of factors, many point to the changes in tax law (mainly, property taxes) that were enacted with Proposition 13 in 1978. While the law addressed the pressing need for property-tax reform in the wake of astronomically rising rates, the shifts created unimaginable effects in local funding for public education. Mainly, it forced local schools to rely primarily on Sacramento for the majority of their funding.

To explain more about Proposition 13, I once again defer to The California Report and a recent infographic that was recently published. The graphic traces the history of Proposition 13 and it's consequences for California public schools.

How Proposition 13 Transformed California [Illustrated Infographic]

Again, while we should praise the current state of public education funding in California, we would be wise--as always--to remain hopefully cautious.

Questions to Consider

• What are some of the impacts that Proposition 13 might have had on lower income communities and their public schools?

• How might these same communities and schools be impacted after the measures in Proposition 30 end in 2019?

Education 2016

If you're a politics nerd and junkie like me, you are so jazzed (and likely frustrated) with the 2016 election cycle! Given that education in American politics is the prime focus of this blog, let's explore where the current frontrunner nominees for each party stand on issues of education. Admittingly, much of this information is collected from the good people at On The Issues--a website dedicated to collecting policy information about each candidate. Also, as mentioned previously, the issue of education has been sparsely mentioned on the campaign trail. Unsurprisingly, these candidates' opinions on education are limited to a handful of familiar topics.

Let's start with the Republicans frontrunners:

Donald J. Trump

• Opposes Common Core State Standards and has called them a "disaster". He has also explicitly criticized other candidates (mainly, Jeb Bush) who have supported CCSS in the past. 

• Favors redistributing exclusive educational oversight to individual states and has even hinted at cutting the department of education:

Donald Trump Fox News Sunday Full Interview with Chris Wallace - 18/10/2015

• In that same interview Donald mentions his acceptance of affirmative action policies--also adding that he believes those policies have out served their purpose.

Senator Ted Cruz

• From his website: "Abolish the IRS, the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. A Cruz Administration will appoint heads of each of those agencies whose sole charge will be to wind them down and determine whether any programs need to be preserved." [bolded for emphasis]
• Further: "...return education to those who know our students best: parents, teachers, local communities, and states. And block-grant education funding to the states."

• "Passionately opposed to Common Core..." and states that it is a "tool of the federal government" to retain power of education:

Senator Marco Rubio

• Common Core:
• Would issue an executive order to stop "any and all" activity related to CCSS.

• Higher Education and on K-12 Educational Choice:
• Would create an "income based" loan repayment system in which monthly collections are proportional to earned income

• Investing in school choice options that allow parents and families to select schools that best fit their student's educational needs

Now for the Democratic frontrunners:

Hilary Clinton

• College:
• Would implement a "New College Compact" that would eliminate costs of "...tuition, books, and fees to attend a four-year public college in their state"

• Would be paid for by limiting tax expenditures for high-income earners

• Early Childhood Education:
• Proposing doubling the amount of money currently invested in Head Start and Early Head Start--Child Care Programs

• Investing and supporting state efforts to expand preschool access

• K-12 Education:
• Support teachers by investing in professional development and high quality recruitment efforts

• Support implementation of the Every Child Succeeds Act 

Senator Bernie Sanders

• College:
• Proposes making tuition free at public colleges and universities
• Paid for by imposing a tax on Wall Street speculators estimated to generate $300 million in revenue

• Reform student loan system by cutting the interest rate on said loans

• Expand need-based financial aid and student work programs

There you have it--have fun at the polls!

Education At The #SOTU

Tonight, President Obama once again delivered his annual State of the Union address. Last year, education comprised a significant piece of his remarks as he unveiled his plan to provide free community college for American students. While I know that education is typically a forgotten subject in grandiose American political theater (see my earlier post about the issue of education on the 2016 Presidential debates), I was hopeful cautiously optimistic that the President might include additional policy proposals in the area of K-14 education policy--especially given the recent overhaul of No Child Left Behind with the signing of the Every Student Succeeds Act. 

If you want to review the transcript of the President's remarks, feel free to do so here or watch the video below (The President's Remarks start at 00:41:30): 

If you want a summary of education at the State of the Union, here you are:

• A quick search of the official transcript of the President's speech finds the words "education", "school", "college", and "teachers" used a total of 10 times collectively. In fact, here is a word cloud that captures the most used words from the speech:

Can you find education? Keep looking...

Despite these sparse mentions of "education", the President did link education as a critically important force in America's changing economy. Here are those mentions:

• "We agree that real opportunity requires every American to get the education and training they need to land a good-paying job. The bipartisan reform of No Child Left Behind was an important start, and together, we’ve increased early childhood education, lifted high school graduation rates to new highs, and boosted graduates in fields like engineering."

• "We should build on that progress, by providing Pre-K for all, offering every student the hands-on computer science and math classes that make them job-ready on day one, and we should recruit and support more great teachers for our kids."

• "We have to make college affordable for every American. Because no hardworking student should be stuck in the red. We’ve already reduced student loan payments to ten percent of a borrower’s income. Now, we’ve actually got to cut the cost of college. Providing two years of community college at no cost for every responsible student is one of the best ways to do that, and I’m going to keep fighting to get that started this year"

Clearly, the President quickly shared the progress of education policies during his term and shared his vision for the important role that education should play in the future. 

New Year, New Budget

Last week, Governor Brown released his proposal for the 2016-2017 California Budget. Although the budget will not be fully implemented until this Summer/Fall (after the legislative process), the current proposal offers a critical glimpse into educational funding during the next fiscal year--especially given Governor Brown's attempts to increase state funding for K-12 public education (mainly, Proposition 30).

If you would like to read and explore the full budget summaries, feel free to do so here:

Governor's Budget - Proposed Budget Summary

Here are some of the key takeaways from the Education section of the 2016-2017 budget and the K-12 Education Summary:

• The total state expenditures for Education in the 2016-2017 fiscal year are approximately $73.8 billion. This represents an approximate 2% increase from 2015-2016 and an approximate 6.5% increase from 2014-2015.

 

Source: 2016-2017 California State Budget. Note: dollar amounts are in thousands.

• Specific funding budgeted for K-12 Education, represents 30.1% of the total state funded budget at an approximate $51.4 billion. When also taking into account federal funding and additional sources of non-state funding, this total increases to roughly $78.7 billion--accounting then for a total of 65.5% of the state's approximate $120 billion self-funded budget.

• K-12 per-pupil spending also sees similar increases. In the 2016-2017 fiscal year, per-pupil spending is estimated at $14,550 (with $10,591 guaranteed under Proposition 98 funds). This represents approximate increases of 2.5% and 6.8% from 2015-2016 and 2014-2015, respectively. 

Source: K-12 Education Budget Summary

• Consolidation of funding for early education through a $1.6 billion early education block grant--with specific attention directed towards promoting programs for low-income and at-risk students and families.

• Increased funding for the the state's Career and Technical Education Incentive Grant--a grant program intended to increase funding for CTE programs within school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools. This grant prioritizes new CTE programs or existing programs facing challenges (i.e. significant drop-out population, significant low-income student population, high unemployment region, etc.).

Even though this proposed budget will likely look very different from the final version that will hopefully be passed by the state legislature in the summer, it nonetheless shows the Governor's continued prioritization of educational funding.

Questions to consider:

• While the 2016-2017 budget shows continued increases in educational funding, what can be done to ensure that those funds are appropriately and effectively allocated and spent?

Disclaimer: state budgeting is a complicated process--especially since it typically includes a variety of funding sources (i.e. federal grants, outside funding, etc.). While I provided links to sources where my numbers were obtained, it is possible that these numbers were not calculated or interpreted correctly. Any suggested corrections and/or revisions to this post will be documented.

New Year, New Issues

With the new year swiftly under way, it is time to start looking toward the educational issues that will set the conversation for 2016. While many new issues will soon take the center-stage of educational conversations, NPR's Claudio Sanchez recently published his Top 6 Education Stories To Watch In 2016.

6 Education Stories To Watch In 2016

While there are some familiar carry-overs from 2015 (mainly Common Core and the newly implemented Every Student Succeeds Act), one crucial story to track in 2016 is the Supreme Court's upcoming decision in the Fisher vs. University of Texas case--in which the challenger, Abigail Fisher, is contesting affirmative action policies in institutions of higher education.

While I do not to espouse direct political opinions, I will share that I recently discussed this SCOTUS case with a group of my high school students and was amazed (and impressed) at the range of developed and diverse opinions I heard. With that antecdote in mind, I wanted to share another NPR story in which high school students from across the country share their opinions on Affirmative Action.

What Is Fair? High School Students Talk About Affirmative Action

Questions to Consider:

• Who holds the greatest interest in upholding or repealing affirmative action policies?

• Are affirmative action policies the most feasible option to ensure enrollment of minority students at college/university campuses?

• What other social factors (if any) can be addressed in order to ensure diverse college campuses in the United States?