California government is experiencing a surge in revenues, and most of the dollars will be spent on schools.
Voters have spoken, establishing constitutional guarantees for school funding. And, when the state has extra revenues, education is at the head of the line for funding increases.
However, voters did not provide a blank check for a spending spree.
Funding guarantees from Proposition 98 may provide education with $500 million in additional money during the current fiscal year -- plus $380 million for enrollment growth, 36,000 students more than had been anticipated last May, according to a recent report from the Legislative Analyst's Office.
The analyst projects K-12 school funding from the state will grow by 9.3% a year through the rest of this decade, exceeding $23 billion in 1998-99.
This funding growth is, of course, thanks to a growing economy that has rebounded from the recession.
There are logical priorities for these additional dollars. More funding is needed for the ongoing program to reduce the ratio of students to teachers in classrooms. The program should be expanded to more grade levels, and more funding per classroom may be needed to ensure that all schools can afford to accomplish this goal.
More support is also needed to improve technology, providing schools with personal computers, computer networks, software, access to online information services, and teacher preparation for technology in the classroom. California schools must produce the high-tech workforce necessary to attract and maintain investment to create the hundreds of thousands of jobs that our growing population demands.
Unless the state's $46-billion general fund, including more money for schools, is spent based on performance, effectiveness and priority needs, California will again face budget deficits. Unless these additional dollars for schools are spent wisely, it may become harder to convince taxpayers that public education is a good, prudently managed investment.
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Contact: Ron Roach (916) 441-0490.