Brown budget for 2014-15
Analysis from CSBA’s Governmental Relations Department
Published: February 1, 2014
Gov. Jerry Brown last month proposed a 2014-15 budget that would provide some $6.3 billion more for K-14 school funding than was adopted in the current fiscal year. It’s definitely an improvement over the years of cuts and deferrals that marked the Great Recession, but California’s public schools would remain well behind nearly every other state in per-pupil funding.
On the positive side, the governor proposed a continued investment in the Local Control Funding Formula and elimination of deferred apportionments to schools. On the other hand, his concerns about California’s debt obligations could complicate the push for a statewide school construction bond.
Another concern: Brown’s budget proposal makes no mention of an additional investment in the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. In the current year, some $1.2 billion was provided in one-time money to assist governing boards, but total costs are estimated at more than $3 billion.
Highlights
Overall, the proposal shows that Gov. Brown remains committed to public education and that it is his top priority. Per-pupil spending under Proposition 98 would rise $725 from 2013-14 levels and $2,188 above 2012-13, to $9,194—and $12,833 when all funds, including federal monies, are considered.
LCFF: School districts and charter schools would receive $4.5 billion in new, ongoing funding for LCFF; county offices of education would get $25.9 million. The current budget provided approximately 11.8 percent towards the full funding target for districts and charters and about half of the COE targets. The governor’s 2014-15 proposal would fund another 28 percent of the remaining amount for districts and charters—and would fully fund COEs.
Brown’s Department of Finance is still saying that LCFF will be fully funded by the close of the 2020-21 fiscal year. Districts and charters relying on Economic Recovery Targets to restore funding levels to 2007-08 levels will move another one-eighth of the distance.
Brown also proposes creating a continuous appropriation for LCFF. Prior to LCFF’s enactment last summer, the portion of school funding dedicated to revenue limits was continuously appropriated, meaning that amount of funding continued to flow even when state budgets were adopted late. Categorical programs, which were not part of the continuous appropriation, were often held up until a budget was passed. A continuous appropriation for LCFF would mean that all LCFF funding due schools would flow if there is ever a late budget from the Legislature.
The governor also proposes to incorporate two programs into the LCFF that were left out in the original bill: Specialized Secondary Programs and Agricultural Vocational Education.
Deferrals: Brown would combine $3.3 billion from the 2012-13 and 2013-14 fiscal years with $2.2 billion in 2014-15 money to fully pay off remaining apportionment deferrals one year earlier than originally proposed. This is part of the governor’s push to eliminate the state’s $24 billion “Wall of Debt” by the end of 2017-18, including $5 billion in unpaid mandate claims and the Proposition 98 maintenance factor.
Proposition 39: With $363 million available in 2014-15 from the five-year energy efficiency proposition approved by voters in 2012, the governor proposes to allocate $316 million to K-12.
School construction, modernization and repair: The governor’s Five-Year Infrastructure Plan includes the following, as well as a stated policy against issuing long-term debt other than lease-revenue bonds:
Of the $211 million in borrowing authority remaining from previous state school bonds, the governor would transfer $105.5 million to new construction and $105.5 million to modernization. His proposal does not contain a call for a school construction bond on the November 2014 ballot yet cites a need to revamp the overly bureaucratic and complex state school construction program.
Brown would dedicate $188.1 million from Proposition 98 funds for the Emergency Repair Program, part of the 2004 Williams case settlement to provide adequate and safe school facilities, sufficient instructional materials and credentialed teachers. The ERP was funded the first two years after the settlement, but nothing has been allocated since. The settlement called for annual allocations to those schools in the bottom three deciles of the Academic Performance Index.
Proposition 98 reserve account: Brown’s call for a constitutional amendment to strengthen the state’s rainy day fund includes a proposed Proposition 98 reserve account, to be tapped when the guarantee falls. If would be funded when capital gains revenues exceed 6.5 percent of the state general fund, but only when cost-of-living adjustments and growth are fully funded. The reserve account would never exceed 10 percent of the guarantee. If the governor’s proposal were in place now a payment to the Proposition 98 reserve would be made in 2014-15, leaving less money available for LCFF or deferrals.
CalMAPP: Brown would dedicate $46.5 million to implementing Assembly Bill 484, the new California Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress student assessment system aligned to the Common Core State Standards. The funds would underwrite the development and administration of additional assessments supplementing those being developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium for the Common Core.
CalSTRS: The governor noted that the annual shortfall in funding to CalSTRS has now reached $4.5 billion. The total unfunded liability of the system is about $80 billion. Brown does not propose a fix in the 2014-15 budget but commits to developing a multiyear plan, beginning in 2015-16, that would include a cost-sharing plan for employers, employees and the state.
Other education-related proposals
Brown would also:
- Grant $33.3 million in ongoing funds for cost-of-living adjustments of 0.86 percent to those non-LCFF programs that get a COLA: special education, child nutrition, American Indian Education Centers and the American Indian Early Childhood Education Program.
- Establish a new adult education program in the 2015-16 state budget for K-12 and community colleges as a stand-alone categorical program.
- Seek legislation to streamline and expand instructional opportunities available through non-classroom-based independent study. He considers the current program too burdensome administratively, requiring teachers to spend more time on paperwork than teaching.
A final note: Brown’s budget proposal makes no mention of any universal preschool or pre-kindergarten programs—a cause Democratic legislative leaders favor.
By releasing his budget proposal for 2014-15, Gov. Brown officially kicked off the annual budget season. Next steps will be legislative hearings on the budget as a whole and hearings in each of the budget subcommittees. Budget adoption deadlines call for a final vote by the Legislature on or before June 15. Since the vote requirement is now 50 percent, it is very likely that we will have an on-time budget this year.
The latest budget news from CSBA is at www.csba.org/LegislativeNews.