CA budget

After legal ruling leaves some parcel taxes in jeopardy, clarity must come from Legislature – by John Fensterwald

After legal ruling leaves some parcel taxes in jeopardy, clarity must come from Legislature – by John Fensterwald

June 27, 2013 Budgets, Los Angeles, Orange County, Sacramento, San Francisco, State Education Law

By John Fensterwald The state Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of a parcel tax case with statewide implications, leaving it up to the Legislature, if it chooses, to change the law that undid one district’s parcel tax and left similar parcel taxes in other districts vulnerable. A bill that would do that failed to move this year but will resurface in 2014. Proposition 13 banned new taxe... »

Brown fights back, responds to critics of his funding formula – by John Fensterwald

Brown fights back, responds to critics of his funding formula – by John Fensterwald

April 24, 2013 Budgets, Los Angeles, Orange County, Sacramento, San Francisco, State Education Law

By John Fensterwald Gov. Jerry Brown emphatically vowed Wednesday “to fight with everything I have and whatever we have to bring to bear” for passage this year of his school finance reform, as proposed. Back from a trip to China and re-engaged on a priority issue, Brown spoke at a news conference a day after Senate Democrats announced they would propose a bill that would delay action on the govern... »

February 25 & 26, 2013: The Annual California PTA Legislative Conference (Budget/School Funding)

March 8, 2013 Innovations, Parents, School Boards, State Education Law

The California PTA Legislative Conference is an excellent gathering orchestrated by the state PTA and usually happens every spring after everyone’s had a chance to digest the governor’s January budget announcement and State of the State address. (KQED has provided 7, 15, and full 30 minute versions of the State of the State here.) We legislative chairs and “lege trackers” f... »

The November 2012 Save California Public Schools Toolkit

The November 2012 Save California Public Schools Toolkit

September 27, 2012 Budgets, Elections, featured, Fixes, Los Angeles, Orange County, Sacramento, San Francisco, School Districts, State Education Law

Step 1: Get informed. We’re on the verge of either saving our public schools from an annual cycle of disinvestment caused by budget cuts ($20 billion in the past 5 years) — or setting off harmful triggers if the November 2012 ballot initiatives to fund K-12 (or K-14) don’t pass. Proposition 30 and Proposition 38 are the two main solutions we can choose to revitalize our chronical... »

California Secretary of State’s Official Titles and Summaries of Proposition 30 and Proposition 38

September 21, 2012 Elections, Fixes, Los Angeles, Orange County, Parents, Sacramento, San Francisco, School Districts, State Education Law

These are reproduced from pdfs found on the California Secretary of State’s website and are the official titles and summaries of Propositions 30 and 38. Proposition 30: Temporary Taxes to Fund Education. Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. CA Proposition 30: TEMPORARY TAXES TO FUND EDUCATION. GUARANTEED LOCAL PUBLIC SAFETY FUNDING. INITIATIVE CO…... »

California Budget Project’s Analysis of Propositions 30 and 38, For November 2012

California Budget Project’s Analysis of Propositions 30 and 38, For November 2012

September 20, 2012 Budgets, Elections, Fixes, Los Angeles, Orange County, Sacramento, San Francisco, State Education Law

California Budget Project‘s Senior Policy Analyst and specialist in education issues, Jonathan Kaplan, recently released Budget Briefs analyzing the potential impact of two ballot initiatives in California that propose to fund K-12 education. This November, voters will decide if they want to vote for one, both, or none, and in order to do so, they’ll have to understand what each one ac... »

Special Podcast: Weighted Pupil Funding & California’s Budget Process, 2012 — Call to Action

June 15, 2012 Budgets, Los Angeles, Orange County, Parents, Sacramento, San Francisco, Students

I just spoke with two impassioned and well-informed high school student leaders and a community coordinator at Californians for Justice about an emergency action to support public schools that they’re conducting in the next 18 hours, ending Friday, June 15, 2012. You can listen to the podcast here: Listen to internet radio with MOMocrats on Blog Talk Radio California’s budget must be p... »

Three CA Education Revenue Initiatives for November, 2012? A Comparison, Because Voters Will Probably Only Support One

February 28, 2012 Budgets, Los Angeles, Orange County, Sacramento, San Francisco

A comparison of 3 ballot initiatives to fund education in CA: Molly Munger's Our Children, Our Future; Governor Brown's Schools and Public Safety Act; and the Courage Campaign's Millionaire's Tax, all of which are seeking signatures to become ballot initiatives offered to the public for votes in November, 2012. Which one? Hard to say -- the three entities should swallow their egos and combine the ... »