February 2, 2016
Kindergarten through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of
2016
In response to the lack of state funding for school facilities, the Coalition for Adequate
School Housing (C.A.S.H.) has qualified a State School Bond for the November 2016
statewide General Election ballot. C.A.S.H. will proceed with its State School Bond on the
General Election ballot in November 2016. Continue reading
January 7, 2015
State Budget 2016-17: No School Bond or New School Facilities Proposal
Today, the Governor released his 2016-17 State Budget, which does not include a proposal for a school bond, and which restates his previous proposals on K-12 school facilities that were included in his last three State Budgets. The Governor also references the Californians for Quality Schools (CQS) initiative, objecting to the fact that it does not make changes to the existing School Facility Program (SFP), and that it would add an additional $500 million in General Fund debt service; however, when asked directly if he supported the CQS initiative in his press conference, he stopped short of opposing it. Continue reading
July 1, 2015
Facility Planners Meeting
State School Bond Efforts
Efforts in the Legislature
Efforts on a state school bond have taken a backseat to other priorities in the Legislature, which does not need to act until next year to place a bond on the November 2016 ballot.
Only one of the three main bond bill vehicles met recent legislative deadlines to make it out of Appropriations Committee and to the floor. SB 114 (Liu) was passed out of Senate Appropriations Committee without the addition of a specific dollar amount; however this bill Continue reading
06/25/15
On Wednesday, June 24, 2015, the Governor signed the 2015-16 Budget Act and accompanying trailer bills to implement the budget with very little fanfare. A negotiated deal between legislative leadership and the Governor was announced last Tuesday, June 16, one day after the Legislature approved its initial budget package. The Legislature passed modifications to the first budget bill and most of the accompanying trailer bills on Friday, June 19. The main budget bills are AB 93 and SB 97, and education trailer bills include AB 104, the K-12 omnibus bill, and SB 78, which makes mainly technical adjustments to the Local Control Funding Formula. Continue reading
06/19/15
On Tuesday, June 16, the Governor and Legislature reached an agreement to finalize the State Budget and on Friday, June 19, the Legislature approved trailer bill AB 104, to enact key education portions of the budget. This agreement does not make any significant changes to the funding amounts for facilities items that we reported to you on Monday, June 15. Continue reading
06/01/15
The May Revision and State Budget Activities
The Governor released his May Revision budget update on Thursday, May 14, 2015, and the
Legislature is currently reviewing, reconciling, and finalizing budget actions in order to
meet the constitutional deadline to pass a budget by June 15. The Governor estimates an
additional $6.7 billion in revenues above the January proposal across three fiscal years
(2013-14, 2014-15, and 2015-16), $5.5 billion of which are proposed to go to K-12 and
community colleges under Proposition 98. The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO)
estimates revenues approximately $3 billion above the Governor, who is known for making
very conservative estimates in order to maintain a fiscally prudent approach and minimize
new spending. Continue reading
February 19, 2015
following is an excerpt from an article by Dan Walters on the Sacramento Bee Website posted on February 17, 2015.
State and local school financing has jumped from $47.3 billion during the first budget of Brown’s second governorship (2011-12) to a projected $65.7 billion in 2015-16 – and probably will go even higher as revenue outstrips current forecasts.
Moreover, Brown is repaying billions of dollars in school appropriations that had been deferred and freeing up billions in previously restricted allocations known as “categorical aids.”
While school officials are gladly spending the extra money, they are learning that it comes with some complicating conditions.
One is the Local Control Funding Formula, adopted in 2013, that diverts much of the new money into extra grants to districts with large numbers of poor and “English learner” students.
February 10, 2015
“What Role, if Any, Should the State Play in the Future of School Facilities?”
~~Governor Edmund G. Brown
In my previous Special Message from the Chair, I announced that C.A.S.H. formed the Californians for Quality Schools (CQS) committee, and filed a ballot initiative with the State’s Attorney General’s Office to place a $9 billion K-14 school bond on the November 2016 ballot. C.A.S.H. continues to vigorously pursue this pathway to maintain the successful state and local partnership that has allowed schools to meet their new construction and modernization needs since 1998. As you will recall, the Governor’s 2015-16 State Budget proposes a significantly reduced state role in school facilities, and does not include a state bond or state funding for the current pipeline.
Continue reading
January 5, 2015
Today Jerry Brown was sworn in for an unprecedented fourth term as Governor of California, and he gave a combined State of the State and inaugural address. Governor Brown emphasized the need to address long-term liabilities and pre-existing commitments, stating that we must “ground ourselves and nurture all that we have started.” While he did not explicitly address the state program for funding school facilities, he did discuss infrastructure by highlighting funding issues for transportation projects including roads, highways, and bridges.