The governor’s budget for 2016-17 continues an emphasis on restraint, while also increasing funds for education, health care and state infrastructure. Brown’s $122.6-billion budget plan is expected to allocate these fund increases while also bolstering California’s Rainy Day Fund and seeking the pay-down of lingering state debt and liabilities.
The plan would invest $10,591 for school spending per student at the K-12 level, which would mean an increase of about $3,600 from 2011-12.
The K-12 plan also details other budget factors— a $2.8-billion investment in the Local Control Funding Formula, a program that focuses on students who face great challenges to succeed, that will lead to 95-percent implementation, according to the proposal.
Brown’s proposal also suggests a $1.6-billion early-education block grant that will be utilized to promote flexibility and give a shifted focus on disadvantaged students and improved accountability.
In an email to the Signal Tribune, Superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District Chris Steinhauser said that the budget is “good news for students and schools.”
“Governor Brown continues to devote much needed resources toward students who need the most assistance,” Steinhauser said, while also adding that Long Beach will continue to manage its resources with caution.
At the collegiate level, the proposed plan would keep the 2011-12 budget levels for another year for both UCs and CSUs. Brown’s plan details that this would maintain some type of affordability while also reducing the amount of time it takes students to attain a degree and finish college.
“I appreciate that Governor Jerry Brown is maintaining his commitment to stabilizing funding for public higher education,” said Jane Conoley, president of Cal State Long Beach, “and that he strives to insulate colleges and universities from the highs and lows of California’s recession-prone economy. Now that we have achieved some stability, and as budget negotiations unfold, I’m hopeful that members of the State Legislature will seize this opportunity to invest more heavily in our state’s public universities.”
Even with the flat-tuition rate in the plan that would continue to benefit college-level education, Conoley stated that “we are far from out of the woods.” Her concern is that state funding still requires Cal State Long Beach to turn away thousands of qualified students.
She added that college has morphed into a “transformative necessity for all” and that there is still a lot of work to do if schools are to give more access to students for higher education.
Regardless, it is still a step forward for education in the state. Long Beach City College President Eloy Oakley commended the budget plan, and he said that it would be of great benefit for students.
“This is a much needed investment that will help Long Beach City College educate and train more students to address California’s increasing need for skilled workers,” Oakley said. “I applaud Governor Brown for directing funding toward key community-college goals, such as expanding our student-success programs, closing achievement gaps and expanding career-technical education programs.”
A prosperous state education is a priority for state assemblymembers, as well.
Seventieth District Assemblymember District Patrick O’Donnell commended the governor’s proposal, and he praised the foundation it creates for the State Legislature to deliver a budget that “balances fiscal prudence” while also making “investments in California’s future.”
“As a father, teacher and chair of the Assembly Education Committee, I firmly believe our state’s first commitment must be to our children,” O’Donnell said. “Restoring California’s reputation as a global leader in education will ensure our workforce remains competitive as today’s students grow to be tomorrow’s business leaders, opinion makers and technological innovators.”
Assemblymember of the 61st District Jose Medina echoes O’Donnell’s stance on prioritizing higher education and praising the governor’s budget, but he insists that “more needs to be done” in order to ensure access to colleges and universities.
“We have a responsibility to provide protection and relief for those California students who were not served by California’s public colleges and were defrauded by unlawful for-profit colleges,” Medina said. He added that he looks forward to working with Brown and other assemblymembers in order to touch base about the proposal.
Brown’s plan covers other aspects, such as health care and state infrastructure. In his letter to the State Legislature, he puts a heavy emphasis on budget restraint.
“Given the wide disparities that exist in our state, and the millions who struggle in one form or another, understandably there will be proposals to fund a variety of worthwhile programs,” Brown wrote. “But it would be short-sighted in the extreme to now embark upon a host of new spending only to see massive cuts when the next recession hits. In view of the $27-billion deficit of just five years ago, and the much larger one in 2009, it is clear that fiscal restraint must be the order of the day. It also goes without saying that we should be chipping away at the $72 billion-unfunded liability that weighs down our retiree health system. I look forward to working with you to enact a timely and prudent budget.”
Brown’s 2016-17 California state budget proposal also includes:
Rainy Day Fund
The budget would provide a $2-billion supplemental deposit into the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
Health care
A tax-reform package that will include a managed-care organization tax for three years would be expected to provide a net reduction in taxes paid by private health care industries. It would secure funding for general fund Medi-Cal expenses, as well.
State infrastructure
The package would include $36 billion over the next decade to improve maintenance of highways, roads, expansion of public transit and improve trade routes, among other services.
Climate change
The continual action of reducing greenhouse gases builds off previous administrative action, which provides a $3.1-billion cap-and-trade method.
Poverty
The budget will also provide a cost-of-living increase for needy Californians. The proposal will raise state grant levels.
The full summary of the governor’s budget proposal can be found at ebudget.ca.gov or dof.ca.gov .
