Voters in Marin County have long been willing to pass parcel taxes to fund their schools. In 2016, taxes faced unprecedented opposition from local activists; taxes in Kentfield and Mill Valley were defeated or passed by previously unheard-of narrow margins, respectively. What changed? This case study uses district financial and demographic data as…

This study explores the differences among California's counties and regions in their needs for new school-site administrators in the coming decade, as driven by a combination of projected administrator retirements and projected student enrollment changes. The projected need for new school-site administrators, based solely on these combined…

The tension at the heart of pension politics is the incentive to satisfy today's claimants in the here-and-now at the expense of long-term concerns. Rules and auditing standards are intended to tame this kind of short-sighted behavior in the private sector. In the public sector, the primary safeguard is the hope that public officials will not be…

This report presents the California edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's 2008 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook." The 2008 "Yearbook" focuses on how state policies impact the retention of effective new teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into three areas that encompass 15 goals. Broadly, these goals…

This seven-section report examines the pension-related behavior of older public employees, particularly California teachers. Section I introduces the benefit option situation. Section II surveys previous studies focusing on the relationship between Social Security wealth and the probability of retirement. Section III describes the California State…

For each of the past 10 years, the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning has issued a report on the status of California's teaching force based on research conducted by SRI International. The Center provides practical information to help policymakers and education leaders understand the challenges they face is provided. Context, clarity…

The 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" provided a comprehensive review of states' policies that impact the teaching profession. As a companion to last year's comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized "Blueprint for Change," building off last year's "Yearbook"…

Data are presented on faculty salaries in the California community colleges, and selected administrative salaries at the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) for 1985-86. Section I looks at faculty salaries for the California community colleges, including information on average salaries and salaries of part-time…

This California edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the third annual look at state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers can make changes that will have a positive impact on…