Cory Bilicko
Managing Editor
Though Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget revisions last week garnered mostly praise from around the state, particularly from educational institutions that will benefit, some who work in early childhood education are feeling slighted.
The governor released a revised state budget on May 14 that aims to reduce debt and save billions of dollars, while directing funding to assist low-income Californians, improve schools, prevent tuition increases and address drought and climate change, according to Brown’s office.
“Another recession is on the way— we just don’t know when,” Brown said in a statement on May 14. “That’s why this budget locks billions into the Rainy Day Fund and pays down debt. At the same time, this budget spends more than ever on schools and creates a new tax credit to help California’s working poor.”
The revision also continues to focus on the key elements of the January budget: carrying out the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), federal healthcare reform, public-safety realignment, the Water Action Plan and the cap-and-trade expenditure plan.
According to the Governor’s office, when Brown took office, the state faced a “massive” $26.6-billion budget deficit and estimated annual shortfalls of roughly $20 billion, which, compounded over a decade, have now been eliminated by a combination of budget cuts, temporary taxes and the recovering economy.
To further that debt reduction, Brown’s budget revision would set aside $3.8 billion in 2015-16 consistent with the voter-approved Proposition 2 Rainy Day Fund, of which $1.9 billion is directed to pay down existing debt and long-term liabilities. The other $1.9 billion will be saved in the State’s Rainy Day Fund, bringing its balance to $3.5 billion. Additionally, the revision repays $765 million owed to local governments.
To provide fiscal relief for Californians with incomes less than $6,580 and no dependents or $13,870 with three or more dependents, the revision establishes a state earned-income tax credit (EITC), designed to complement the federal EITC. The credit is expected to benefit 2 million individuals, with an average household benefit of $460 and a maximum benefit of $2,653, according to Brown’s office. This investment builds on other actions from the governor to “dramatically” expand Medi-Cal healthcare coverage, raise the minimum wage, extend paid sick leave to millions of Californians, expand California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program grants and direct billions more in funding to students with the greatest needs through the LCFF.
Helping the “working poor”
California State Board of Equalization Chairman and Franchise Tax Board Member Jerome E. Horton commended Brown for proposing the state EITC, adding that it will help lift nearly 2 million of the state’s poorest workers out of poverty. However, Horton also said the federal tax credit still needs to be a resource for many Californians.
“The state earned income-tax credit will stimulate our economy by rewarding the strong work ethic of our state’s working poor, but it is a mistake not to invest in efforts to recapture billions in federal EITC that remains unclaimed annually,” Horton said in a May 14 statement. “With the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, the Board of Equalization and Franchise Tax Board assisted more than 288,000 taxpayers [to] capture upwards of $114,045,240 in federal EITC. With a fraction of the $384 million the governor is proposing to spend, we can help even more poor people recapture billions of dollars in federal refunds. The majority of California taxpayers submitted their returns and made their contributions in April. We are now responsible for spending that money wisely to avoid greater demands for even larger contributions.”
Horton was not the only voice who commended Brown’s proposal but included a caveat.
Dr. Paul Song, executive chairman of the Courage Campaign, a California-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that “fights for a more progressive California and country,” said that, during his tenure, the governor has done “a courageous job” in returning the state’s budget to financial stability and fiscal sanity, but he called on Brown to invest in programs that are more inclusive of all Californians.
“We are excited to see that the budget continues that trend by making investments in our schools and in our state’s most economically vulnerable, like with the proposed earned income-tax credit,” Song said. “Gov. Brown’s proposed expanded budget for our schools is a critical investment that our state’s crumbling education infrastructure desperately needs, and a freeze on UC tuition would provide some relief for students struggling with rising loan debt. But for the 9 million Californians still struggling to make ends meet, we need Gov. Brown to make even bolder investments in California, like restoring the devastating cuts to the Health and Human Services budget and funding programs that welcome immigrants out of the shadows— not sequestering even more money into the State’s Rainy Day fund.”
Though Song also called the governor’s revise “a step in the right direction,” he added that Courage Campaign’s 1 million members will continue to push Brown for a wider scope of assistance.
Improving schools
Funding for K-12 schools will increase by more than $3,000 per student in 2015-16 over 2011-12 levels— up 45 percent over four years, according to the Governor’s office.
Compared to Brown’s January budget, the revision increases spending for those schools, as well as community colleges, by $6 billion ($5.5 billion General Fund). Funding for the LCFF— which directs education funds to students in poverty, English learners and foster youth— will continue at $53.1 billion in the coming year. The revised budget also repays past-year school deferrals in full and calls for an additional $150 million on top of the $250 million proposed in January to augment career-technical education.
Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach), who represents the 70th District, said that, as a teacher and chair of the Assembly Education Committee, he is pleased to see the Governor’s revised budget include an additional $5.5 billion for schools.
“The recovery of California’s economy has also allowed us to speed up the full implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula, and I’m happy to see the Governor recommends investing an additional $2.1 billion into the program,” O’Donnell said. “The Governor’s proposal reflects that our schools continue to be California’s top priority.”
Long Beach City College (LBCC ) President Eloy Ortiz Oakley said the additional funding for community colleges is welcomed but indicated he is “cautiously optimistic.”
Oakley said that, although the exact amount that LBCC will receive is unclear, he hopes to use the additional funds for support services that will increase student success while remaining fiscally responsible in the college’s long-term planning.
“Long Beach City College is among the many educational institutions still working to recover from the deep budget cuts that affected us during the recession, and this will help in that recovery,” Oakley said in a statement last week. “I also applaud the Governor in recognizing that we need to reduce the amount of time students take to achieve their educational goals and focus on getting them through our higher education system more quickly. We look forward to the Legislature approving the Governor’s budget proposal to invest in community colleges.”
Based on the proposed budget in January, the community college will spend $3.6 million to hire 27 new faculty members, add three new staff members and increase the assignments of 44 staff positions that had been reduced as a result of the recession, according to Stacey Toda, LBCC associate director of public relations and marketing.
Although LBCC’s actual gains are uncertain, the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) appears to have a more concrete idea of what its financial benefits will be, if the revised budget is indeed approved by the State Legislature.
Chris Eftychiou, LBUSD’s public information director, indicated that, based upon preliminary estimates, the recent budget proposal would bring as much as $120 million more to the school district’s current fiscal year’s general fund of $750 million, adding that the allocation of those additional funds would be guided by the State’s LCFF. Of the $120 million, about $40 million would be “base” funding for general operating costs, and $40 million would be applied to the “high-need students” that LCFF addresses. The remaining $40 million would be one-time funding to cover expenses such as books, technology and training, or professional development, according to Eftychiou, who, like Oakley, stressed prudence.
“While the latest proposal is a significant increase, we caution against characterizing it as a windfall, in light of the decade of repeated and unprecedented cuts that California’s public schools faced not too long ago,” Eftychiou said. “We are beginning to heal from those deep, painful cuts. We also must remember that the latest budget proposal still has to go through the legislative process before it’s approved.”
He said that, ultimately, the publicly elected school board will decide how to use any additional resources from the State.
“The board’s decisions will be informed by our Local Control Accountability Plan Committee— a diverse group of parents, students, employees and community representatives that develops a plan for the school board to consider,” Eftychiou said.
The Governor’s proposal also includes a plan to expand elementary and secondary public schools on military installations as part of a program that is 80-percent federally funded with a 20-percent local-match requirement. Additionally, the proposed budget includes funds to augment the Early Education Program for Infants and Toddlers with Exceptional Needs by $30 million.
Assemblymember Rocky Chávez (R-Oceanside), who represents the 76th District, said that matching federal funds for schools on military bases in California is a step in the right direction.
“Improving education and programs for the children of California have always been priorities in my mind,” Chávez said in a statement last week. “Seeing a significant budget adjustment to the early cognitive development of our children is promising. Specifically, I agree with the allocation to increase opportunities for infants and toddlers with special needs to receive early interventions.”
Although Brown’s proposal includes $5.5 billion in Proposition 98 funds, which support preK-14 education, the revision includes only minimal increases for young learners from birth to age 5, according to the Early Childhood Education Coalition, which released a statement May 14 indicating the organization is “disappointed” in the revision’s failure to significantly increase investments in access, affordability and quality for early childhood education for children from birth through age 5.
“With state revenues growing each month, California should be making wise investments in programs with proven outcomes,” the Coalition’s statement reads. “The research is crystal clear— early childhood education is one of the best investments we can make to not only provide our youngest and most vulnerable children with quality early-learning experiences they need to thrive in school and in life, but to give their working families the opportunity to participate in our recovering economy. We call on the Assembly and the Senate to seize the small recognition contained in this May Revise proposal and use it as an invitation to continue their stand for our youngest learners and send Gov. Brown a budget that invests in quality early-childhood education.”
Celia C. Ayala, CEO of Los Angeles Universal Preschool, which is part of the Coalition, said that, since 2005, her school has helped prepare over 100,000 children for kindergarten and overseen workforce development programs for more than 4,000 early-learning students and professionals.
“However, for every child, teacher and provider we support, there are many more who lack access to these opportunities,” Ayala said. “We need a state budget that creates greater access to quality early learning and increases investment in the development of the early-education workforce.”
Since 2008, $1 billion has been cut from the early learning and care system in California, according to the Coalition.
“As a result, far fewer of our vulnerable infants and toddlers are enrolled in programs that support their healthy development, and only minimal reinvestments have been made— only 6 percent of income-eligible children under age 3 are served by any publicly supported programs,” according to the Coalition’s May 14 statement. “Additionally, the demand for new preschool spaces funded in last year’s budget was more than eight times the number of spaces available, and the California Department of Education acknowledges the need is likely much greater.”
