California law severely limits local school districts' revenue-raising authority compared to most other states, which allow districts to raise local property taxes to support schools. School districts are primarily funded by revenues allocated by the state through complex formulas established decades ago. In California, school districts have…

Adult schools are facing the biggest threat to their existence since the first school was founded in California a century and a half ago. An EdSource survey in October-November 2011 found that 23 of the state's 30 largest school districts had made major cuts to their adult education programs, including Anaheim Union High School District, which…

California's grim economic environment has hit summer school programs hard, but all of the state's 30 largest school districts still managed to provide some summer classes for struggling students in 2011, according to an EdSource survey. The July 2011 telephone survey of California's 30 largest school districts, revealed the following three major…

"Stress factor" is defined as any internal or external influence that makes it more difficult for a school or district to carry out its basic mission of providing a high quality education to all its students, as well as to ensure that its students succeed on state and federal accountability measures. This report identifies 11 such stress…

California entered 2010-11 with a longstanding imbalance between ongoing spending and income. To help close that gap, state policymakers suspended Proposition 98, the minimum funding guarantee for K-12 schools and community colleges. In total, revenues for K-12 schools are down nearly 10% this year compared with 2007-08. Yet more cuts loom as the…

With K-12 schools representing the single largest expenditure in the state budget, education funding has been a central issue throughout the chaos that has recently characterized California's budget process. School districts throughout California have endured deep cuts in state funding, and more cuts are looming. But state law severely limits the…

California school districts are being expected to "do more with less." They face critical and competing pressures to improve academic achievement while remaining fiscally solvent in a time of increasing budgetary pressures. This report examines the financial circumstances of California's school districts and the actions they have been…

Statewide about one-third of the funds that K-12 schools receive in 2007-08 are from categorical programs designated to serve specific purposes. School agencies receive varying amounts depending on district characteristics, the programs they choose to operate, and the proportion of the state's 6.3 million students that they serve. These tables…

The Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA) is California's latest K-12 intervention program to support low-performing schools. The state will allocate close to $2.7 billion through this seven-year program to help these schools meet performance and resource benchmarks. This two-page brief explains the selection and funding processes, details the…

In a state as large and complex as California, education financing can become as complicated as rocket science. This two-page Q&A provides a brief, easy-to-understand explanation of California's school finance system and introduces the issues of its adequacy and equity. A list of resources providing additional information is provided.

When people talk about school district efficiency, their first thoughts are about financial management. Are districts balancing their budgets, paying bills on time, and maximizing their revenues? This report takes a closer look at financial management in California school districts. The report is a summary of the 2006 research study, "School…

Calls for changes in California's complex state-run school funding system, provided the backdrop for "Overhauling School Funding in California: The Push for Greater Adequacy, Equity, and Accountability," the EdSource 27th Annual Forum in March 2004. Participants discussed approaches for determining what would constitute adequate funding,…

The hot new phrase in school finance in California is "weighted student formula" (also known as "student-based budgeting"). Proponents of this concept believe it could eventually help the state develop a straightforward approach to school funding that is more equitable and effective. Skeptics, on the other hand, question the…

A school district budget is more than numbers. It is a record of a district?s past decisions and a spending plan for its future. It shows a district?s priorities whether they have been clearly articulated or simply occurred by default. And it is a communications document that can tell constituents a lot about the district?s priorities and goals. A…

Another year of financial difficulty for the state of California led to the suspension of the minimum-funding guarantee that has provided some financial protection for schools in recent years. In a negotiation with education leaders Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger managed to craft the suspension in a way that protected education's interests at the…