California School Boards Association (CSBA) President Susan Heredia Responds to Gov. Newsom’s May Revision Budget Proposal
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (May 14, 2021) – “We appreciate that Gov. Newsom has prioritized education in his May Revision budget proposal and allocated substantial sums for community schools, mental health, academic interventions, extended learning, teacher recruitment and smaller class sizes. These programs address areas of great need and will help strengthen the state’s K-12 schools,” said CSBA President Susan Heredia.
“At the same time, we continue to have concerns about the state creating new programs with one-time money while failing to address ongoing structural funding issues that threaten the financial health of school districts and county offices of education. CSBA will continue to work with the Administration and the Legislature to pass a final budget that repays schools $2.6 billion for money that was deferred when budget projections were more pessimistic, provides relief beyond the current year for skyrocketing pension costs, addresses a $600 million spike in unemployment insurance payments, and restores $900 million lost over a three-year period and more than $350 million annually in future monies to schools that were improperly directed to certain county governments. All of these items represent critical funding opportunities exceeding $4 billion that could be used to further support students in a time of crisis.”
CSBA will break down what the May Revision means for school budgets today at 5:30 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. Also joining CSBA panelists will be Michael Fine, Chief Executive Officer, FCMAT; Brett McFadden, Superintendent, Nevada Joint Union HSD; and Daryl Camp, Superintendent, San Lorenzo USD. Click here to register.
CSBA is a nonprofit association representing nearly 1,000 PreK-12 school districts
and county offices of education throughout California.
www.csba.org