California will join 17 other states and the District of Columbia as finalists in the competition for $3.4 billion in Race to the Top money. Thirty-five states had applied in the second round. Between 10 and 15 states are expected to be awarded money, so, depending on where California is in the standings, California could come away with all or some of the $700 million it is seeking.

Sacramento News

Day 30 and counting with no signs of state budget. Once again, Governor Schwarzenegger threatens to not a sign a budget unless there is legislation to curtail public pensions and change California’s taxation and budgeting systems.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown unveiled an education reform plan that calls for a wholesale restructuring of California’s public school system, from changing the way schools are funded to revamping the state’s higher education system.

Reforming State and Local Governance

Opponents of Proposition 14 filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court seeking to block the state from transitioning to a “top two” primary system. The lawsuit targets Senate Bill 6, the bill implementing the “top-two’ primary system that was approved with 53.8 percent of the vote in the June primary.

School District Impacts

Reductions to K-12 funding by State are beginning to show up in the classrooms as numerous school districts adopt a shortened school year for 2010/11.

As the August 6th deadline approaches, numerous school districts have made decisions about passing a parcel tax or bond measure on the November ballot. West Contra Costa, John Swett, East Side and Oakland among some of the districts who approved placing a parcel tax measure this week. Santa Rosa and Dublin decide to wait.

News Impacting CA School Districts Through July 30 is a post from: Effective Governance Teams

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Debt service is now about 6 percent of the state’s $86 billion general fund budget, more than twice what it was a decade ago according to the Legislative Analyst Office. This trend is causing the Governor and the Legislature to consider removing the Water Bond Measure in November and also could reduce the placement of future State school facilities bonds that are used for local school districts for matching purposes.

School District Impacts

The first week of August is the deadline for school boards to place a parcel tax or bond measure on the November ballot. For those school districts considering bond measure they should review the specifics of the measure to avoid nasty accusations from taxpayers. In addition, boards may want to review the bidding process for repairs to roofs to insure a competitive process.

News Impacting CA School Districts Through July 23 is a post from: Effective Governance Teams

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Demand is far out pacing resources in one hot segment of the education innovation market, as districts, schools, and nonprofit organizations pitch reform proposals worth $12.8 billion for competitive grants to be awarded under the federal Investing in Innovation Fund, or “i3”—nearly 20 times what the U.S. Department of Education has available. The $650 million competition financed by the economic-stimulus package drew 1,698 applicants by the May 12 application deadline, creating a wish list that ranges from a $22,282 proposal to improve students’ writing in Connecticut’s Preston district to a $50 million plan to expand the Teach For America corps.

Sacramento News

The California State Board of Education declared an emergency in 1,000 public schools the state has designated as among the lowest performing in the state. The law sets out a timeline allowing parents to apply to transfer their children to schools in other districts by Jan. 1 preceding the school year they wish to transfer. But the state board wants the law implemented immediately, to allow students who wish to enroll in other districts by November 1, rather than the fall of 2011, as the law seemed to envisage.

As if California doesn’t have enough to deal with, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has opened up a new front in the education and political wars: He wants to abolish the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

Reforming State and Local Governance

A 17-page CalPERS sales brochure told legislators a decade ago that a major increase in state worker pension benefits would not increase state costs, but annual state payments to the pension fund have soared from $159 million to $3.9 billion since then. Contribution from school districts have grown from $0 to $1.2 billion.

School District Impacts

Just as education experts are encouraging more classroom time to improve student grades and test scores, many California districts are moving in the opposite direction by shortening their school year amid a sustained and draining budget crisis. Of the state’s 30 largest school districts, 16 are reducing the number of days in the academic year, according to a survey by California Watch. The changes are expected to affect about 1.4 million students in these districts alone.

A five-year parcel tax to generate money for San Diego schools will go before voters in November, potentially reigniting a dispute between business and labor. The parcel tax would cost single-family homeowners $98 a year. Apartment and condominium owners would pay $60 per unit. Low-income senior citizens would be exempt from the tax. Commercial and industrial properties would pay a flat yearly tax of $450 under a scaled-back version of the original plan, which would have charged nonresidential parcels based on size and development up to $25,000.

With no news on the final details of state budget, school districts like Hayward made the difficult decision to suspend preschool programs.

News Impacting CA School Districts Through July 16 is a post from: Effective Governance Teams

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“Keep Our Educators Working Act” which was passed by the House faces some tough sliding ahead. California stands to receive $1.2 billion for K-12 schools. However, the Senate needs to find cuts in federal spending and President Obama threatens to veto since it also contains $800 million in cuts to his reform initiatives, including a whack out of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top fund.

Sacramento News

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a new demand that a specific change in state worker pensions be made before he signs off on a budget. At a minimum, the governor said he wants legislators to roll back current pension terms to those that existed before 1999 legislation created more generous rules.

School District Impacts

After loss of a parcel tax election in largest California school district, Los Angeles Unified School District,the second largest school district is considering a parcel tax election. The San Diego Unified School District has proposed a parcel tax for the November ballot to help pay for teachers, protect class sizes and maintain education programs. It would generate $58 million annually over five years. If the measure is placed on the ballot and approved by voters, single-family homeowners would be charged $98 annually while condominium and apartment owners would be taxed $60 per unit. Low-income seniors would be exempt. Commercial and industrial properties would be taxed based on parcel size, ranging from $450 for parcels up to 25,000 square feet and $25,000 for those more than 250,000 square feet.

Benicia Unified School District staff and a consultant are crafting a resolution in favor of a parcel tax between $49 and $59 annually after failing in two prior attempts. In 2004, Measure S for a $105 annual parcel tax just missed the two-thirds mark with only 64.6 percent voting yes. Two years later, Measure I for a $254 annual parcel tax failed with only 53 percent support.

News Impacting CA School Districts Through July 9 is a post from: Effective Governance Teams

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The California Department of Education posted the 14 school districts (12 from first interim) were assigned negative certification and 160 school districts (114 from second interim) were assigned qualified certification for the second interim posted in March, 2010. The number is only going to larger as state funding continues to decline.

Reforming State and Local Governance

The Secretary of State has assigned numbers to the statewide initiatives for the November ballot. For school districts looking to run a parcel tax campaign on the November, some consideration of the type of turnout these propositions will bring in your school district needs to be factored into your decision making.

School District Impacts

Once again school districts have to approve their annual budgets without any idea what the State budget will look like. In Fremont, they were able to approve a budget after reaching a tentative agreement with employee groups that sees class size increase to 28 for K-3 and six furlough days. The Capistrano Unified School District approved a budget that wiped out class size reduction in K-3 entirely, raising class size to 31.5.

News Impacting CA School Districts Through July 2 is a post from: Effective Governance Teams

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In the past few years, the State has deferred payments to school districts to address budgetary and cash flow problems at the State level. This practice has gotten so bad that numerous school districts have had to take out loans to address their own cash flow issues. In a bit of good news, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed a bill that does not give districts all the money they should receive before June 30, but at least 57 percent. At least $1.1 billion will still come late.

Reforming State and Local Governance

November 2010 will once again be busy for voters. Ballot measures to legalize marijuana, decrease the margin needed to pass a State budget, increase the margin to increase fees, repeal AB 32, Congressional redistricting, eliminate the newly created commission on redistricting means there will be plenty of commercials on the television.

School Districts Impacts

After passing three parcel taxes in the past eight years, Alameda Unified School District lost their latest attempt by a slim margin of one percent with 65.6% Yes.

In a growing trend, employee groups are agreeing to salary rollbacks in addition to furlough days. In Saddleback, teachers and other certificated employees must take a 9.73 percent pay cut that includes a mix of furlough days, higher insurance costs and salary rollbacks. In Sacramento, SCTA members will be required to give up $950 in salary in each of the two years of the agreement. District officials say that the $2.1 million in savings from that giveback this year is the equivalent of three furlough days for SCTA members.

News Impacting CA Schools for the Week Ending June 25 is a post from: Effective Governance Teams

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California will not be receiving any help with their budget from the Federal government when a $23 billion aid package was defeated in the Senate.

Sacramento News

Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg has introduced a bill directly responding to issues raised in a February lawsuit challenging the large-scale layoffs of teachers at three Los Angeles Unified middle schools and in low-performing schools elsewhere in California. The bill would explicitly give superintendents and schools boards the authority to override teacher seniority rules in order to prevent disproportionate layoffs at any school. A federal judge ruled last month that districts already have this power under state law; they just don’t use it.

Reforming State and Local Governance

One issue facing State and local governments is rising pension costs. Some states have begun changing the pension benefits to address the issue. With California facing its third multi-billion-dollar budget deficit in as many years, four state labor unions have agreed to roll back pension benefits for their new hires and increase retirement contributions for all state employees. In the meantime, CalPERS boosted the state’s annual pension payment 18 percent, up $600 million to $3.9 billion, and the question now is how big will increases be in the future?

School District Impacts

Complicating school districts ability to develop and approve thier budgets is ongoing negotiations. If negotiations bog down into impasse then districts like Hayward can not meet their budget deadline.

News Impacting CA School Districts Through June 18 is a post from: Effective Governance Teams

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The House approved a teacher jobs bill in December, but that legislation stalled in the Senate. With lawmakers wary of moving big spending measures, the upcoming bill may be the last vehicle that could carry the teacher money before the November elections.

Sacramento

Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor believes it may be unavoidable – and may be preferable – to suspend Proposition 98, the primary method of funding K-12 schools and community colleges, in a year when the state is struggling to close a massive $20 billion deficit.

Larry Aceves, a candidate backed school administrator pulled off a surprise victory in the race of State Superintendent of Schools. He will be in a runoff against Senator Tom Torklason, a CTA backed candidate. Education reform candidate Senator Gloria Romero, finished third.

Under SB X5-1 (sections 14-15), which the Legislature passed in January to promote the state’s Race to the Top application, the State Board of Education must vote up or down on the Academic Content Standards Commission’s common-core recommendations by Aug. 2. The catch is that SB 5X-1 requires that the Academic Content Standards Commission verify that the new common-core standards are as “high-quality” as California’s standards. By the time the commission holds its first meeting, on Thursday, June 17, it will have less than a month before it must report its findings to the State Board of Education.

In response to attacks from CTA, Senator Steinberg tells his side of the story.

As if getting a budget passed and signed on time is not already near impossible, Governor Schwarzenegger is reaffirming his pledge to not sign a budget without public employee pension reform.

Reforming State and Local Governance

With the passage Proposition 14, everyone is guessing what the impact will on the future of state politics and the Legislature.

School Districts Impacts

As school districts looks for additional revenue, Board members should make sure staff has reviewed all of the implications of implementing a “pay to play” practice.

News Impacting CA Schools for the Week Ending June 11 is a post from: Effective Governance Teams

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For nearly three decades, California’s largest teachers union has all but handpicked the candidate who went on to win the race for state superintendent of public instruction. In a packed field of 12 candidates, three have emerged as the top contenders for the nonpartisan job. All three are Democrats, two of whom are splitting the support of the education establishment, and a third who has attracted support of non-establishment education reformers.

Proposed legislation that would require all incoming kindergartners be 5 years old by Sept. 1 cleared the state Senate on Wednesday and is now headed to the Assembly for consideration. The Kindergarten Readiness Bill, authored by state Sen. Pete Simitian, D-Palo Alto, would move the state’s kindergarten-age cutoff date from the current Dec. 2 to Sept. 1.

School Districts Impacts

In a legal case challenging a school district ability to charge different rates for parcels, Alameda Unified School District received a favorable ruling from Alameda Superior Court. The plaintiffs plan to appeal.

Elk Grove Unified School District teachers gave overwhelming approval Tuesday night to a two-year contract that included a pay cut, nine furlough days, an increase in their medical co-pay and the suspension of an annual bonus from lottery funds.

San Diego city schools on a traditional calendar will end the academic year a week early next year to accommodate five mandatory furlough days for its 15,000 employees, the school board has decided.

The union that represents San Francisco teachers has approved a labor contract that reduces the number of layoffs and shortens the school year by four days.

Teachers in the Long Beach Unified School District will take unpaid furlough days next school year, resulting in five fewer days of student instruction, – the maximum reduction allowed by state officials next school year as part of an effort to help districts balance their budgets.

With their school district facing a $5 million budget shortfall in the next fiscal year, Lucia Mar school district trustees decided Tuesday to show their support for district staff by taking a pay cut. The $456 monthly stipend received by the seven board members will be reduced by 5 percent.

At Natomas Unified School District, the school library has become a luxury that can’t be afforded.

News Impacting CA Schools for the Week Ending June 4 is a post from: Effective Governance Teams

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California’s application for improving its longitudinal data system to track students from pre-kindergarten through high school, college and into the workplace has also been given the cold shoulder. The system would have allowed the state to assess the effectiveness of its education programs, as well as monitor the progress of students through the entire education system.

They haven’t heard yet why the state placed 26th out of 50th in a grant competition that funded only the top 20 states. But they shouldn’t be surprised if the feds’ answer is, “Are you kidding? Why would you expect taxpayers to enlarge a data system when you have yet to get it to work right?”

Sacramento

For school board members who have aspirations for higher office, having to make decisions about keeping your school districts fiscally sound can come back to haunt you. Larry Miles is finding out the hard way, as his opponents uses attack ads that highlights his actions on belt tightening in his school district.

School Districts Impacts

Teachers in the Oceanside Unified School District have reached a tentative agreement with administrators to shorten teachers’ work year by six days next year and five fewer in the 2011-12 school year. The work year would then return to 185 days in 2012-13.

Ninety-three percent of the 2,150 union members who cast ballots last week supported the tentative three-year contract with the Long Beach Unified School District that ratified a labor deal that would have them take five unpaid furlough days next school year.

News Impacting CA Schools for the Week Ending May 28 is a post from: Effective Governance Teams

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