Governor's State Budget: Education Spending to Receive Largest Increase

Source: Governor's Website, Announcements, 1/10/05

Today, Governor Schwarzenegger released his proposed budget for 2005-06. The budget is balanced, does not raise taxes, boosts education funding, protects essential services, and increases state spending by 4.2 percent.

The Governor has always maintained that children should have first call on the treasury and his budget keeps that commitment by increasing general fund education spending by 7.1 percent.

“K-14 education funding will increase by $2.9 billion. Out of that is $2.4 billion for Prop. 98 alone,” the Governor said at the press conference announcing his budget. “K-12 per pupil spending will grow by $362. Higher education spending will increase by more than $380 million.”

Education funding is receiving the largest spending increase in the budget. Given California’s fiscal crisis, the budget was not everything the Governor hoped for, however.

"This budget is not everything that I want but the fact is, it's a budget forced on us by a broken system," the Governor said. "As I said in my State of the State, last year we stopped the bleeding. This year, we must heal the patient."

Governor Schwarzenegger inherited an unprecedented fiscal crisis when he took office. This year's budget is another installment in the Governor's plan to restore California's economic health. Without significant reform of the budget system, however, California’s deficits are likely to worsen.

“If we don’t get control of the autopilot spending, there will be deficits as far as the eye can see and we will risk every program for years to come,” the Governor said. Under the current budget system, the state will always spend more than it takes in, leading to continued and worsening deficits. In order to stop the cycle of deficits, the Governor is calling for essential reforms to the system.

The Governor’s Spending Control Proposal calls for

1. Stopping auto-pilot formulas from allowing spending to out-pace revenues.
2. Requiring greater budget discipline.

The Governor has submitted the Spending Control Proposal to the Legislature which must now act on it.

Legislature/State Officials Response

"Democrats are not going to break our promise to make sure schools get the funds they need," said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles). (LA Times 1/11/05)

"Gov. Schwarzenegger has not only broken his promise to public school children, he proposes breaking the promise of California voters to provide a minimum amount of state funding to support public schools," said state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. "This is unconscionable, not to mention a bad example for California's schoolchildren."(LA Times 1/11/05)

"I don't think we ought to be targeting kids in schools and senior citizens to take the brunt of the cuts while letting corporate interests totally and completely off the hook," said Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, a Los Angeles Democrat. (Sacramento Bee 1/11/05)

State Treasurer Phil Angelides, a Democrat who likely will challenge Schwarzenegger if he runs for re-election in 2006, called the budget "fiscally" and "morally" unbalanced.

"All of the sacrifice is coming from those who have the least, or from children," he said.(Sacramento Bee 1/11/05)

"It's a very bold step, and it's sorely needed," said Assembly Budget Committee Vice Chairman Rick Keene, R-Chico. "When you run the mathematics, the budget just doesn't work without making some changes in some of the autopilot spending." (Sacramento Bee 1/11/05)

California Education Coalition Response

The Education Coalition believes it is unconscionable that the Governor’s proposed budget breaks the promise he made to California’s students and public schools.

Last year, students and public schools sacrificed $2 billion in ongoing cuts because the Governor promised that our schools would receive their fair share of any additional state revenues and would be spared cuts in future years. The Governor’s budget proposal breaks his promise to California’s six million students and takes even more money from our schools.

The Governor’s proposals are a smoke screen designed to divert public attention from the real problems facing our public schools. They do nothing to help public schools and students. Instead, they exacerbate an already inadequate funding problem by adding new requirements without any commitment to adequate and stable funding.

California schools have suffered more than $9.8 billion in cuts in the last four years. This has meant school closures, increases in class size, lay offs of teachers and support staff, and a devastating shortage of librarians, counselors and nurses. Many schools lack basic supplies and instructional materials. California voters passed Proposition 98 in 1988 to protect schools and students from harmful budget cuts and to establish at least a minimum level of education funding.

The Governor’s plan to cut another $2.3 billion from our schools goes against the will of California voters, fails our students and breaks the education budget agreement approved by the Governor and the Legislature last year. Two recent independent reports concluded that California’s schools were underfunded, had some of the largest class sizes in the country and inadequate teacher salaries. At the same time, studies credit California for having the highest student standards and accountability assessments of any state in the nation. We can’t expect our students to meet those high standards without giving them the resources they need to succeed. Our students and schools deserve better.

Sandra Carsten, President, Association of California School Administrators
Nick Ferguson, President, California Association of School Business Officials
Larry Reider, President, California County Superintendents Educational Services Association
Mary Bergan, President, California Federation of Teachers
Dr. Kerry Clegg, President, California School Boards Association
Clyde Rivers, President, California School Employees Association
Carla Niño, President, California State PTA
Barbara E. Kerr, President, California Teachers Association
Annelle Grajeda, President, Service Employees International Union , California