Schools Get 1.8 Billion Budget Boost

Districts Could Spend Additional Money for Teacher Pay Raises or Other Purposes in the 2000-01 School Year

Gov. Gray Davis and legislative leaders agreed earlier this week to provide California schools an additional $1.8 billion that districts could spend for teacher pay raises or other purposes in the 2000-01 school year

In exchange, the state's most powerful teachers union, the California Teachers Association, immediately announced it would drop a November ballot initiative that would have forced the state to raise school spending to the national average, even if it meant a tax hike.

The $1.8 billion technically will repay schools for cost-of-living increases that were withheld during the recession of the early 1990s and meets a key demand by school leaders for more state funds with no strings attached with it being allocated directly to local school districts on a per-pupil basis. It amounts to $280 per student for elementary schools and $340 per student for high schools.

Districts could use it to buy textbooks, repair facilities, add classes or anything local school boards decide. The likelihood, however, is that most will be used to increase teachers' salaries, the single biggest expense of every district.

"Even though our economy is booming, teachers are still suffering from the recessionary cutbacks of the early 1990s," said Governor Davis. "Today's proposal repays California's debt in full. I want to commend President Pro Tem Burton, Speaker Hertzberg and my staff for their diligent efforts. They have acted in the public interest."

At its peak, the deficit reached 11 percent of the discretionary money for local schools. That had been gradually reduced to 7 percent -- and now will be wiped out in a single year. It will become part of the constitutionally guaranteed level of spending on schools, which means it will become part of the baseline annual budget of school districts.

Davis said he intends to announce still more school spending increases over the next few days.

"I said from the outset that if the economy prospered, schools would be the principal beneficiary," he said. "The economy has prospered, and schools are the principal beneficiaries."

The money will come from a state budget surplus estimated to be between $11 billion and $13 billion. Davis said other areas, including transportation, health care, the environment and tax relief, also will claim a share of the surplus.

Davis said the timing of the announcement was not directly related to the CTA initiative.

Davis called the CTA's decision to drop the initiative "an important and positive step on their part."

Kerr said the union will now devote all of its political resources in the fall to a campaign to defeat a school-voucher initiative.

	Related Links LAEP to Recognize Outstanding Educators, Schools and School Communities

	Search LAEP advanced search