A CALIFORNIA SCHOOL FUNDING MAP TOOL: Estimated loss in per-pupil spending would be under an all-cuts budget + addl coverage

No revenue extension? School funding per student falls steeply

by cynthia  liu | k-12 News Network | http://bit.ly/ksvc6g  

May 4, 2011 - The map tool linked-to below shows the entire state of California. You can choose to look at funding for school districts, or by State Senate District or State Assembly District.

This map tool is a starting point to show what the estimated loss in per-pupil spending would be under an all-cuts budget. An all-cuts budget means current sources of revenue will expire on June 30, 2011 without extension.

 

Go to http://bit.ly/FundingMapTool to see and use the interacative Tool The Map Tool Data for LAUSD Shows: Los Angeles Unified  (Los Angeles) Without Tax Extensions: State Cuts =$764.0* per student If 30 students per classroom: $764 x 30 students = $22,920 in cuts per classroom. Total Cuts to School District = $497,888,463 Layoff Notices: 7,302 teachers and classified staff as of 3/15 Note: Addt'l cuts could be required for all school districts depending on final state funding cuts, and could include higher class sizes, or furlough days. TBD *$764 per student reduction: as estimated under "all-cuts" (NO tax extensions) budget scenario, according the CA Legislative Analyst's Office, Feb. 2011.

Solve the problem and save our schools

Governor Brown has asked the legislature to let the people vote to extend school funding.

Only 2 more GOP votes in the Assembly and 2 more GOP votes in the State Senate are required to let Californians vote before June 30. The same small handful of votes could also make up the 2/3 needed to pass extensions for school funding directly in the legislature.

If we vote to extend revenue for another five years, the impact is minimal. State funding of K-12 education will be reduced by $19 per pupil.

If we allow an all-cuts budget as some legislators insist, and let taxes that fund kids’ educations expire, then we can expect to see cuts of $764 per pupil in every school district in the state. Added up at school after school, that means less money to hire teachers, bigger class sizes, the possible closure of school libraries, and fewer resources in the classroom.

Parents must ask themselves: Can I make up the $764 difference in state per pupil spending on my own? Added all together, can the loss of $764 from the state per pupil multiplied by hundreds of children in my child’s school or thousands of children in the district be made up by community fundraising if that amount is in the millions of dollars? Can I make up these losses year after year?

EdSource, May 2011: California’s Fiscal Crisis: What does it mean for schools?

If not, it’s time for a broad-based way to fund schools. A vote to extend existing revenue before it expires on June 30, 2011, is the best and most immediate way to do this.

Over the past three years, $18 billion has already been cut from the state’s contribution to K-12 education. To cut more would be to jeopardize public education in this state.

Tool troubleshooting

How:

1. Enter your address or zip code in the field next to “Go to.”
2. Choose to see results by “Funding,” “Senate Districts,” or “Assembly Districts.”
3. You’ll see a red pin marking the location on the map.

Funding:

1. To see a school funding report, click on the area near the pin but not on the pin.
2. If you double-click on the district area but do not get the school funding report, check to see that you have chosen to see results as “Funding.”

Senate District or Assembly District:

1. To see Senate or Assembly District information, choose the one you want to see by clicking on the circle next to your choice, then click on the area near the pin but not on the pin.
2. If you double-click on the district area but do not get the the district number, elected representative, or political party, check to see that you have chosen to see results as “Senate District” or “Assembly District.”

How to understand what you see

Federal, state, and local money funds local public schools in an extremely complex formula. This highly technical formula must factor in state and federal laws, and rely on accounting methods specific to government. You can find an excellent detailed explanation here, at EdSource.org and here, at the California Budget Project.

We present accurate, but simplified information in this map tool, using projected losses to school districts after June 30, 2011, under an all-cuts budget as calculated by the non-partisan, non-profit California Budget Project. CBP results were released on April 28, 2011.

For more details and the most up-to-date information that affects your neighborhood school, please consult your local school district.

This tool was created by Sreeram Balakrishnan and Cynthia Liu, two grassroots parent advocates working with the non-profit group Parents for Great Education. Sreeram is a Technical Program Manager at Google Research (www.google.com/fusiontables), and a parent in the Los Altos Elementary School District. Cynthia is a parent of a first-grader at a California public school, founded K12 News Network and, with Parents for Great Education, helped research and project manage the collaboration. We thank the volunteers who helped test this tool. We’re also deeply indebted to Jonathan Kaplan and the California Budget Project for sharing their research, and providing support and informal advice. This was purely a non-profit effort made with donated labor and expertise.

Tool helps parents understand budget crisis impact

Lyanne Melendez - KGO News Team | abc7news.com http://bit.ly/mwiHA3

 

KGO Photo

Updated at 07:06 PM Thursday 5 May - SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- There is a new online tool to help parents who want to get the numbers on how state budget cuts may affect their child's school.

There have been numerous rallies and marches throughout the state bringing attention to cuts in education.

But how much of what the cuts really mean is understood or digested by parents? A new online tool lays it out in simple terms. A map lets parents click on their child's school district and information pops up showing how much districts would lose if the tax extensions proposed by the governor do not pass.

Related Content

link: California School Funding Map Tool

The non-profit Parents for Great Education collaborated on the tool. The data came from the California Budget Project.

"For every school district it has the potential cuts and this is based on the legislative analyst's projections if there is no additional revenue in the state budget," Parents for Great Education spokesperson Sarah Butler said.

Oakland Unified School District is facing $33 million in cuts. According to the tool, that means $764 less per child and $22,920 less per 30 student classroom. It also shows the number of teachers who received layoff notices.

"We really rolled up our sleeves and got our hands dirty and realized that we needed to simplify the information," K12 News Network founder and tool co-creator Cynthia Liu said.

Liu is also a mother of an elementary school student. She and three other people worked on the tool for a month, volunteering their time. One of them works for Google, which powers the map.

For school districts it is one more tool to help them deliver the facts.

"Well, California has a very, very complex school finance system, so any help we can get in that regard is truly appreciated; anyway we can make it clearer to parents we want to do that," San Francisco Unified School District spokesperson Nancy Waymack said.

The webpage where the tool can be found also has ways for parents to contact their local lawmakers.