In his 2012-13 budget, Governor Brown proposed a new system for allocating state revenue among California school districts. In May the governor revised his proposal. Using the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) School Finance Model (available at www.ppic.org/main/dataSet.asp?i=1229), in this update the authors show how these proposals…

In his 2012-13 budget Governor Brown proposed a new system for allocating state revenue among California school districts. By all accounts the current system is complex and opaque. In contrast, the proposed system--a weighted pupil funding formula--is simple and transparent. Using the PPIC School Finance Model, we compare how this formula would…

California's budget crisis has diminished educational resources for the state's current cohort of public school students. Because school districts have less revenue, class sizes are larger and struggling students receive less assistance. Under these circumstances, it seems beside the point to suggest that California should begin planning for the…

This is a technical appendix for the report, "Pathways for School Finance in California" (ED515651). "Pathways for School Finance in California" simulates alternatives to California's current school finance system. This appendix provides more information about the revenues used in those simulations. The first section describes…

State revenue currently flows to California school districts through so many channels that it is difficult to determine why some districts receive more funding than others. Each revenue program also has its own restrictions on the use of funds, reducing the latitude of school districts to use state funds most effectively. An alternative,…

In its recent report, the Governor's Committee on Education Excellence proposes a major restructuring of California's school finance system, replacing most of the separate programs through which revenue now flows from the state to local school districts with a base program and a targeted program. The base program would serve the educational needs…

This report provides background information on California's academic standards, resources and funding mechanisms. Its findings point to relatively low levels of school spending, a gap between academic standards and school resources, a finance system based on previous funding levels rather than actual school resources and their costs, and questions…