gmhTODAY 25 gmhTODAY April May 2019 | Page 33

C alifornia is a study in contradictions. How is it that the fi fth largest economy in the world is also in the bottom fi fth of U.S. states in nearly every measure of K-12 education funding? It’s mind-blowing. Our not-so-Golden State ranks 41st nationally in per-student funding, 45th in the percent- age of taxable income spent on education, and 45th in student-teacher ratios. And K–12 public school funding in California has not substantially increased, on an inflation-adjusted basis, for more than a decade. How did we get here and what can we do to make the kind of investment in public education befitting a global economic power? Recently, gmhTODAY spoke with local and regional education leaders to find out. GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN april/may 2019 gmhtoday.com 33