By Joe W. Bowers Jr | California Black Media
On
January 10, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his record $222 Billion state budget for
2020-21. The $84 billion he allocated in it for K-12 schools and community
colleges represents a historic high level of funding for education in
California.
The
proposed investment in K-14 education is 3.03 percent or $3.8 billion more than
last year. Total K-12 expenditures from all sources in the budget are projected
to be $17,964 per pupil.
While
state spending on education is at its highest level numerically, Governor
Newsom expressed that “none of us is spiking the ball” because education
outcomes for many students are not where it should be or can be.
According
to Newsom, “We are making progress, but it is stubborn and slow. We have
disparities that are being closed and disparities that are persistent.”
The
achievement gap is being closed for Latinx students, students with
disabilities, low income students, and African-American students in some
metrics. Latinx students narrowed their gap in English language arts scores and
high school graduation rates. Students with disabilities made the greatest
gains in math and English language arts. African-American students showed the
largest graduation rate gain among student groups.
Where
progress has been slow has been with students with disabilities, youth in
foster care, homeless youth, and African-American students continuing to score
below the state standard on English language arts and math tests.
Newsom
was very candid in pointing out that 23 low-performing, high-poverty school
districts have an over-representation of African-American students.
“It seems self evident that we should focus
and concentrate our efforts in those areas in order to address ….the substance
of the vexing issue as it relates to academic achievement for African-American
students.”
“We
have to start getting serious and do something about it. We believe the biggest
achievement boost is fully prepared teachers,” Newsom said.
The
governor is proposing $900.1 million to be invested in workforce investment
grants, professional development grants for existing teachers, and teacher
recruitment strategies.
“The
plan is to build a diverse teaching workforce of stable, prepared professional
teachers, including more teachers that look like their students. That’s
incredibly important as related particularly to African-American achievement,”
Newsom said.
The
budget includes $100 million to fund $20,000 stipends for new teachers who
choose to teach in high-need schools. This addresses the stubborn fact that
high-poverty schools have three times as many unprepared teachers.
$300
million in grants is being made available to close the academic achievement in
the lowest-performing districts.
Another
$300 million is proposed to expand community schools to address students’
physical and mental health needs by establishing public-private partnerships
with community services. The funds will also be used to promote parent
engagement.
“Special
Education in the state of California is in a crisis,” according to Newsom.
About $900 million dollars is being allocated to increase base funding for Special
Ed students, support specific teacher training, fund early diagnosing and
intervention and pay for studies on how districts are delivering services to
respond to the learning needs of those students.
The
budget calls for establishing a new Department of Early Childhood
Development to consolidate under one roof the various efforts to implement
the governor’s Master Plan for Early Learning and Care, a policy initiative he
announced last year.
Newsom
is committed to adding 10,000 full-time preschool slots this year and providing
universal preschool for all low-income 4-year-olds by the end of next year.
Education
leaders’ reactions to the governor’s 2020-21 state budget presentation has been
mixed.
“The
Governor mentioned that students should have teachers that look more like them,
and we couldn’t agree more. We look forward to having the opportunity to invest
in our teacher workforce and the pipeline of future teachers coming into the
profession, specifically teachers of color and in the fields of science, math,
and special education,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said.
State
Board of Education President Linda Darling Hammond said, “Some students spend
the year in classrooms staffed by highly trained, highly prepared teachers. But
many others do not. These disparities are particularly grievous for low-income
students of color. The 2020-21 budget investments in educator recruitment and
professional development will help place California on solid footing moving
forward as we work to build, train and support the kind of high-quality
educator workforce all our students need and deserve.”
California
Teachers Association President E. Toby Boyd expresses some cynicism.
“Despite
California’s economy consistently expanding – now being ranked fifth-largest in
the entire world – we have some of the most underfunded schools in the country,”
he said. “We rank 39th in the nation in per-pupil funding. We boast the most
overcrowded classrooms in the entire country.”
Los
Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner said, “California’s public
schools will remain woefully underfunded, especially when compared with the
rest of the nation.”
“This
budget proposal does not go far enough in funding supports for our most
vulnerable students,” Beutner added. “Including students whose families are
experiencing homelessness and students with special needs.”
The
governor’s presentation begins the formal state budget process. Over the next
several months, the California legislature will hold hearings on the budget and
special interest groups and the public will have an opportunity to comment on
various budget proposals. In mid-May the Governor will release a revised
budget plan reflecting changes to spending. The budget will be finalized
by the end of June 2020.
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