Talking Points

(from Association of California School Administrators LOGIC Sample Packet)

Governor's Budget 2005-06
Education Coalition Key Messages
February 7, 2005

Governor's Broken Promise Fails California's Students
• The Governor's budget proposal breaks the promise he made to California's schools and six million students and takes even more money from schools despite the fact that state revenues are actually higher than what was projected when the agreement was approved.
• Last year, public schools and students sacrificed $2 billion in ongoing cuts with the Governor's promise that our schools would receive their fair share of any additional state revenues and that more harmful cuts would be avoided in future years.

Voters Support Guaranteed Minimum Funding for Schools and Students
• California voters approved — and continue to strongly support — Prop. 98, the 1988 law which changed the state Constitution to require that the state protect schools and students from harmful budget cuts and to guarantee a minimum level of education funding.

Governor's Proposals Ignore the Will of the People and Make School Funding Worse
• The Governor proposed budget is a fundamental shift away from the will of the voters. It proposes nothing that will deal with the very real problems of under-funding. In fact, his proposals make a bad situation even worse.
• The Governor also proposes to eviscerate what's left of Prop. 98 with a new, debilitating Constitutional amendment that would weaken school funding protections by allowing multiple rounds of devastating mid-year, across the board cuts with no hope of repayment.
• The Governor's proposals are designed to divert public attention from the real problems facing our schools. They add new requirements without any commitment to adequate and stable funding.
• In addition, the Schwarzenegger Administration is engaged in a "school numbers fudge" by claiming they're providing a 7.1 percent increase in school funding. The State Legislative Analyst says the "real increase in perpupil funding in inoation adjusted dollars is about 1.25 percent." (Sacramento Bee, 2/2/05)

California Schools Have Suffered $9.8 Billion in Cuts in the Last Several Years
• In the last four years, California schools have suoered more than $9.8 billion in cuts. Statewide, these cuts translate to school closures, increases in class size, lay oos of teachers and support stao, and a devastating shortage of librarians, counselors, nurses, custodians and groundskeepers.
• Many schools lack basic supplies and instructional materials. Schools are cutting art and music programs, extracurricular activities are no longer aoordable, after-school programs have been decimated and school maintenance is under-funded.
• A recent Los Angeles Times columnist wrote: "If we're really interested in educational funding, the important question isn't whether the schools are getting more or less money this year compared with last. It's whether they're getting enough. And the answer is clear: They're not." (Hiltzik, LA Times, 1/31/05)

California School Spending Is Among the Lowest in Nation
• A recent "Quality Counts 2005" report by Education Week notes California ranked 44th in the nation in per-pupil funding. New Jersey and New York, for example, spend 50 percent MORE PER PUPIL than does California.
• A recent study by the RAND Corporation corroborates these ondings and notes California's K-12 school system has fallen from a national leader 30 years ago to its current ranking near the bottom in every objective category, including per-pupil funding, class size and teacher salaries.

Students Are Expected to Meet the Highest Expectations in the Nation with Inadequate Funding
• Nationwide studies list California's academic standards among the highest in the country. Education Week's "Quality Counts 2005" report gave California a B-plus for its standards and accountability system. Other state-by-state comparisons list California as one of only three states in the nation to receive an "A" in both English and mathematics standards.
• A report by the Public Policy Institute of California also identioes California as ranking highest in academic standards and accountability systems, but lowest in onancial resources. The Governor's proposal would destroy any chance to close the dramatic gap between expectations and inadequate funding. We can't expect our students to meet high standards without giving them the resources they need to succeed.
• Governor Schwarzenegger needs to keep the promise he made to California schools and students and restore the Proposition 98 minimum level of funding guarantees.