California’s legislative analyst last month opposed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $300 million earmarked in his 2023–24 budget proposal to fix academic gaps and racial disparities in the state’s lowest-income schools—saying the state should focus on accountability and transparency instead.
The additional funds—which Newsom calls “equity multiplier”—came at the push from members of the Legislative Black Caucus, a group of black lawmakers who address legislative concerns for black Americans and other ethnic groups.
“I am … happy to announce that Governor Gavin Newson and his staff have committed to on-going funding and to work with us, to create a comprehensive policy aimed at improving the academic achievement of students in the lowest-performing groups and the related goal of addressing the needs of black students,” Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) said in a statement last August. “This proposal will be included in the Governor’s January 2023 budget.”
Under Newsom’s proposal, the funds would be given to the state’s lowest-income school districts, who would then decide where to spend it based on goals and needs outlined in their respective plans to address student needs.
Each district drafts such plans according to how well it meets state standards on such things as test scores, chronic absences, and graduation rates, and receives money from the state according to needs.
However, the Legislative Analyst’s Office recommended lawmakers reject the funding in a Feb. 23 report, citing a 2021 study that showed additional funding does not always lead to improved outcomes in low-income and low-performing schools.
The study, by the Public Policy Institute of California, reported that only 55 percent of supplemental funding given to districts was used at the specific schools which had qualified the district.
“Initial studies ... have shown evidence that additional funding has led to improved outcomes for districts with larger shares of supplemental and concentration funding but has not resulted in the same levels of improvement for the lowest-performing schools or subgroups within districts,” the report stated.
Additionally, analysts said districts should ensure their needs are met with regular needs-based state funds.
Legislative analysts instead called for greater transparency and accountability to ensure the funds districts are currently receiving are being used to address needs.
“We find that the key issue is increasing transparency to ensure existing funding actually targets the highest needs schools and student subgroups,” the legislative report stated. “Rather than provide more funding, we recommend the legislature consider options to provide greater transparency regarding how funding is spent across schools.”
Such would help the state determine if districts are targeting schools with the greatest need, the report said.
It further suggested the state require education boards to publicly report on the number of credentialed teachers, those with less than three years of experience, and student-to-teacher ratios for each school in their district, since most school funding is spent on staff salaries and benefits.
“This information would give the public and the state a good sense of how funding is spread across schools,” the report stated.
Spokespersons for Newsom were not immediately available for comment.
