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Statement on California’s May Budget Revision from CSBA President Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (May 14, 2020)– “We appreciate that, given the financial pressures related to COVID-19, Gov. Newsom chose to direct $4.4 billion from the federal CARES Act toward public education and that he is allocating $2.3 billion to defray pension contributions for school districts. This is a welcome development that affirms the importance of public schools, but coupled with a 10 percent cut to LCFF — the primary source of funding for K-12 education — the May Revision impairs the ability of schools to serve all students and to resume on-campus instruction safely,” said CSBA President Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez. “This budget would be insufficient in ordinary times, and is less than what is required for most schools to reopen safely during a pandemic — and if schools don’t reopen, our economy can’t fully reopen. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, nearly 70 percent of California schools were deficit spending and 40 percent were contemplating layoffs as they coped with rising costs. The added expense and challenges presented by the COVID-19 response have only exacerbated this problem and make it clear that schools require substantially more investment from the state — and especially from the federal government.”

CSBA will break down what the May Revision means for school budgets today at 5 p.m. in a webinar featuring CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy, Assistant Executive Director of Governmental Relations Dennis Meyers and Legislative Advocates Erika Hoffman and Cheryl Ide.