Republican lawmakers propose massive cut to schools 

Analysis from CSBA’s Governmental Relations Department

The plan released Monday by Republicans in the state Legislature to address the state’s growing deficit is tenuous at best. It relies primarily on savings totaling $15.6 billion—of which $10.6 billion would be taken from education.

The plan also includes $6.5 billion in “revenue measures” for a total of $22 billion in potential fiscal solutions over two years. However, those revenue proposals are equally hazardous to children and education; they depend primarily on taking $2.1 billion in unspent funds from the First 5 commissions, created by Proposition 10, and $3.9 billion from county mental health funding under Proposition 63. Among other problems with these proposals, they would need to be approved by voters—who supported creating the programs in the first place. They would also amount to one-time revenues that would not address the state’s structural deficit—and they wouldn’t count toward Proposition 98’s minimum funding guarantee.

Devastating cuts

The Republican plan claims $10.6 billion in “spending savings” to education. This includes devastating cuts primarily from school district and county office revenue limits; this year’s funding level would be cut by $2.5 billion, and as much as $6.15 billion—or more—would be cut from 2009-10 (the exact amount would be adjusted up or down to provide the minimum funding required under Proposition 98). A $280 million cut from deferred maintenance is also included.

The plan also relies on redirecting the $550 million provided for after-school programs under Proposition 49—another proposal that would need to be approved by voters. Additionally, the plan reclassifies $1 billion in current-year education appropriations that exceeded the Proposition 98 minimum as a settle-up of amounts previously owed to schools.

In promoting the devastating education cuts, the Republicans offer increased flexibility to local education agencies in a proposal similar to one Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger put forth in November. Included would be the ability to transfer prior-year unexpended categorical balances and the ability to transfer categorical funding, in amounts equal to the revenue limit cuts, to those general funds. The Republicans also propose to eliminate restrictions on contracting out for goods and services and changing the minimum advance notification period for layoffs of certificated employees to 45 days. While increased flexibility is certainly desirable, in good economic times as well as bad, flexibility is not a substitute for increased revenues and will not make up for the magnitude of the cuts proposed.

Other proposals include:

· A 10 percent across-the-board cut for the University of California and California State University systems, accompanied by increased student/faculty ratios

· A $3 billion cut from Medi-Cal, health services and programs for the seniors and the disabled

· freezing enrollment for the Healthy Families program

· eliminating state funding for transit agencies

· A 5 percent across-the-board cut for the Legislature

Impacts of cuts on the economy

Many economists assert that cuts of the proposed magnitude would be more harmful to the economy than tax increases, because the cuts would lead to job losses and reduced purchases of goods and services from the private sector. More than 11,000 classified employees in local education have already been laid off, potentially contributing to both the foreclosure crisis and the sharply reduced consumer spending that are at the heart of the current recession.

That’s why CSBA continues to oppose these massive cuts and supports a balanced approach that includes revenue increases. Let your lawmakers know that the cuts in the Republican proposal would be devastating to your schools and that cuts of this magnitude would be felt by students in the classroom.

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Additional information on the budget and how to contact your legislators can be found on the CSBA’s Web site @ http://www.csba.org/LegislationAndLegal.aspx.