SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today met with a broad coalition of business, civil rights and education leaders from across California to continue the call for action on his plan to direct additional resources to the state’s neediest students and restore local control over how money is spent in schools.
“This plan gives every student in California a better shot at success and it’s time to move forward,” said Governor Brown.
The Governor’s plan, also known as the “Local Control Funding Formula,” increases flexibility and accountability at the local level by restoring local education agencies’ control over money previously earmarked for state-mandated programs. The plan also strategically directs additional money above base funding to children with the greatest need—low-income students, English learners and foster youth.
A broad coalition of supporters met with the Governor today, including: California NAACP President Alice Huffman; Education Trust-West Executive Director Arun Ramanathan; California Endowment Senior Vice President Daniel Zingale; Bay Area Council President and CEO Jim Wunderman; Sacramento Metro Chamber President and CEO Roger Niello; ACLU Southern California Executive Director Hector Villagra; EdVoice President and CEO Bill Lucia; LA Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President of Education and Workforce Development David Rattray; Silicon Valley Leadership Group Senior Vice President Dennis Cima; Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund Legislative Staff Attorney Jeannette Zanipatin; San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President Jim Lazarus; Public Advocates Inc. Managing Attorney John Affeldt; Latino Community Foundation Executive Director Raquel Donoso; Children Now President Ted Lempert and California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce Director of Membership and Business Development Julian Canete.
The plan also has widespread support from superintendents, teachers and education advocacy groups and 77% of adults support the plan according to a recent PPIC poll.
“The California State Conference of the NAACP and its 62 branches statewide support the Governor’s new education finance formula because it gives local school districts and counties’ offices of education the necessary flexibility to manage their school improvement obligations without barriers to focus resources on their lowest performing minority, poor and English Learners,” said California NAACP President Alice Huffman. “The proposal is a smart educational reform and will lead to stable school funding for school districts while providing additional funding to equalize unequal circumstances for California’s neediest low income students.”
“California’s economy cannot afford to leave some children behind,” said President and CEO of the Bay Area Council Jim Wunderman. “Under the Governor’s leadership, the devastating education budget cuts have stopped. Looking forward, Governor Brown has a vision for school funding that corrects inequities, reduces complex regulations, and engages local communities. We applaud the Governor’s vision and commitment to providing all children a good education.”
“The Local Control Funding Formula takes a critical step toward realizing the constitutional promise of providing all children a meaningful opportunity to learn,” said ACLU Southern California Executive Director Hector Villagra. “The moral and economic imperatives for devoting greater resources to serving students with greater needs are pressing and undeniable.”
Under the plan, 80 cents of each state education dollar will be spent on base grants for all students, 16 cents on a supplemental grant for students from low-income families, English learners and foster youth and 4 cents on concentration grants for school districts with high numbers of these targeted students.
The Governor has called for changes to how the state funds schools for more than a year and has met with education experts, educators, the Legislature and other stakeholders from throughout California. This year’s proposal, introduced with the 2013-14 Budget, builds on what was introduced in January 2012.
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