CALIFORNIA'S EDUCATION SPENDING CONTINUES
TO LAG BEHIND THE REST OF THE NATION
“Educating our children
is the most important job
in the world.”
Steve Betando,
MHUSD Superintendent
SOURCE: PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE OF CALIFORNIA
Educational Achievement
In case you haven’t been following local education, the Morgan
Hill and Gilroy Unified School Districts are performing well.
Teachers and staff at our twenty-plus schools serve more than
20,000 students on their journey from Pre-K to graduation.
They’ve implemented Common Core standards while trans-
forming classrooms and curricula to deliver a 21st century
educational experience to our kids.
Their achievements are being recognized with prestigious
Gold Ribbon and Golden Bell Awards. Dual-immersion and
Academy schools have become models of education for
others to emulate. Graduation rates are solid. More graduates
are meeting eligibility requirements for California State
University and University of California systems, and well
prepared for four-year colleges, community colleges, workforce
opportunities, and military service.
Our public schools deserve our praise, but even more
so, our support and advocacy. Especially in their efforts to
balance district budgets in the midst of declining enrollment,
increasing pension costs, and the ever-changing landscape of
state funding and accountability measures.
“Local tax measures are not strong enough so we
are dependent on state funding,” said Steve Betando,
Superintendent of the Morgan Hill Unified School District
(MHUSD). “We’re doing more with less and we continue to
seek revenue enhancements.”
Betando applauded his administrative team for pursuing
more than $10M in grants for everything from visual and
performing arts and math literacy to kitchen equipment
renovation.
Gilroy Unified School District Superintendent Debbie Flores
agreed, “The single biggest challenge we face is funding.”
Funding Shortfall and the LCFF
In 2013, former Governor Jerry Brown enacted the Local
Control Funding Formula (LCFF), essentially the state’s
financing system that provides additional money to public
school districts based on enrollment of “high-need” students
(low-income/eligible for free or reduced cost lunch, foster
children, and English Learners).
For the 2016-17 school year, both the Morgan Hill and
Gilroy Unified School districts received less than $9,000 in
per-student funding from the state. Gilroy receives slightly
more than Morgan Hill per student because it has a higher
percentage of high-need students.
In comparison, San Jose Unified received $9,500 and
Santa Clara Unified received over $13,000, and many
education leaders say that’s not enough to meet our students’
needs. The nation’s top states fund their public schools at
an average rate of $13,000-17,000 per student, far above
California rates.
The state recently completed implementation of the LCFF.
Unfortunately, the initiative’s revenue increases have largely
been offset by increased costs associated with pensions,
healthcare, special education programming, transportation,
and other expenses borne by public school districts.
Education leaders are also understandably concerned
about a possible flattening of LCFF funding in the event that
the U.S. experiences another economic downturn.
And of course, with LCFF funding comes a demand for
“One thing that makes Gilroy so special is its generosity, including the Gilroy Foundation, the Christopher
family and the Connell family, among others. Rotary Interact, Rock the Mock, and the Garlic Festival
provide our students with what is often their first experience of community service and fundraising for their
school projects and activities. For a community of 57,000, it’s amazing how people step up for our youth.”
Debbie Flores, GUSD Superintendent
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GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
april/may 2019
gmhtoday.com