GOP education budget proposal: a new direction, or just a distraction? 

Analysis from CSBA’s Governmental Relations Department

Last week, the Republican caucuses of the state Senate and Assembly came together to present their package for education funding for the state’s 2008-09 budget. What they put forward was much the same as the plan presented by the Assembly Republican Caucus earlier this month.

The Republican plan would avoid suspension of Proposition 98’s minimum funding guarantee for education through manipulation of the guarantee; the result would be essentially flat funding for schools. This would represent $2.4 billion less than Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “workload budget,” which is the amount schools need just to keep pace with inflation. Rather than fund that amount, the governor’s budget proposal calls for an across-the board cut in state spending of 10 percent.

The legislative Republicans’ proposal provides $57.7 million for Proposition 98, which is the same level of funding in the alternative budget proposal that Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill released in February. It is important to note that none of the proposals call for funding a cost-of-living adjustment, currently estimated at 4.94 percent over 2007-08 levels.

Flexibility and reform—or distractions?
In addition to proposing overall funding levels, the Republicans’ proposal includes three basic components: flexibility for the use of balances remaining in categorical programs at the end of the current fiscal year and of routine maintenance accounts; additional block granting of categorical programs; and changes in mandate requirements.

CSBA supports the two flexibility proposals, since they would provide options for districts to manage their budgets to better address district priorities. However, this additional flexibility cannot be used as a tradeoff for cuts in funding, because it would provide only minimal relief to districts.

The categorical block granting proposal would be a more substantial reform. It is complicated, and it would require great care in its crafting in order to avoid creating winners and losers and to provide real flexibility; in the context of a severe budget crisis, this effort will be even more challenging. Further, there is the danger that block granting of categoricals at the same time those programs are being cut could mask the extent of the cuts.

The third component of the Republican proposal, which would allow the Legislature to suspend mandates in years they are not funded, also raises concerns. It is likely that most school districts and county offices of education would continue to perform many of the mandated activities, such as sending notices of truancy to parents; however, they would no longer get paid for performing those activities. In addition, districts and county offices may not know that a mandate was suspended until after the state budget was enacted, which is usually days or weeks into the new school year, when it would be difficult to change local staffing and spending allocations to take advantage of any mandates’ suspension.

Ultimately, these proposals are distractions from the real issues the Legislature is facing as it tries to address the growing budget deficit.

What’s next
Legislation to implement each of the proposals was held in the Assembly Education Committee. However, these issues are still in play and will likely be part of any budget negotiations.

While we can appreciate the Assembly and Senate Republicans coming together and making education a priority, CSBA believes the minimum funding guarantee must be upheld without manipulations and sleight-of-hand tricks that would have the appearance of fully funding the minimum guarantee while actually reducing funding for our schools.

Related Link:
Find out about the impact of state budget proposals and how local board members are defending the interests of their school districts or county offices of education and students our CSBA’s “Schools: An Investment We Can’t Afford to Cut” Web page: http://www.csba.org/EducationIssues/EducationIssues/SchoolsInvestment.aspx