O.C. Superintendents Lobby for Reforms (CA)
May 17, 2010
Orange County’s public schools could avert further massive budget cuts if state and federal lawmakers allow more local control over restricted money for schools, end unnecessary and unfunded mandates and pay their fair share of special education costs, county school leaders said Friday.
Twenty superintendents from the county’s 28 districts gathered at the county Department of Education headquarters to announce their campaign for reforms they say would relieve much of the budgetary constraints facing public schools.
“The most important message is that we are not whining that we are not getting more money,” said Anaheim Union Superintendent Joseph Farley. “We are simply offering some solutions to help the state get through this economic crisis.”
The 28 districts have cut $850 million from budgets over three years by eliminating hundreds of jobs, cutting music and arts, increasing class sizes, and imposing scores of other cuts to programs and services. The group said the three reforms would prevent school districts from needing to make further cuts.
The group timed the announcement just before Gov. Schwarzenegger released his May budget revise. Schwarzenegger announced that k-12 education funding would remain at its current amount.
County Superintendent William Habermehl said that said that even without additional budget cuts, school districts would still face financial hardship in covering scheduled cost-of-living raises and other annual increases.
Habermehl said the governor’s proposal also faces stiff challenges from legislators, union groups and other state agencies before the budget is finally approved.
“The state of California continues to budget on bookkeeping gimmicks, wishful thinking and false assumptions," Habermehl said. “Public education pays a big price for this mismanagement.”
Local superintendents said their reforms would keep schools in Orange County, and across the state, financially solvent despite the state budget crisis.
Here is a summary of the three proposed reforms:
1. Categorical funding. The state mandates that millions of dollars be spent on specific costs – textbooks, teacher training, student remediation, smaller class sizes, drug and tobacco intervention programs, etc. County superintendents want state lawmakers to pass legislation that provides local school boards greater freedom in determining their programs and priorities for funding.
“Granting meaningful flexibility would allow school boards, administrators and our teachers to craft programs that match available resources directly to the needs of our students,” said Irvine Unified Superintendent Gwen Gross. “Having to comply with our state’s extensive categorical regulations is burdensome and wasteful.”
2. State and federal mandates. The state and federal government mandate several programs at local schools, but often don’t provide enough funding to pay the programs’ costs.
“State mandates health screeners, annual parent notifications, a comprehensive school safety plan,” said Anaheim City Superintenden t Jose Banda.
“I’m not saying these things are not worthy, or not something we should be doing. But many of these requirements are not funded by the state. If the state does not fully fund those, the districts should not be required to carry them out,” he said.
3. Special education funding. The federal government is required to compensate districts 40 percent of most special education costs. But the government only funds about 19 percent.
“School districts must pay the rest out of funding that could instead be spent on programs like music and arts, smaller class sizes and other services,” said Greg Magnuson, superintendent at Buena Park School District. “All we are asking is for the federal government to step up and pay its fair share to make this happen.”
The superintendents are proposing federal lawmakers pass legislation that would phase-in greater federal funding over five years before reaching the 40 percent target.
The group admitted the reforms would not come easily.
Schwarzenegger has previously opposed removing all restrictions for categorical funding. Removing requirements for spending categorical funds could lead to school districts siphoning money away from programs like music, the arts and physical education, the governor said.