Albany Unified officials got a picture this week of what Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed new K-12 funding plan will mean for them. In January, Brown said that he wanted the state to give more money to schools with higher numbers of poor students and students learning English.
On Wednesday, the California Department of Finance released funding projections based on Brown’s idea. Compared to other districts, Berkeley Unified will receive very little new funding using the proposed formula.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Brown’s proposal may forge unusual political alliances as lawmakers in rural districts make common cause with colleagues from urban districts, and Democratic and Republican legislators from the suburbs marshal a united front against a plan that gives their constituents less money.
Like everything else related to school funding, Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula is complicated, but it essentially awards more money to schools with more poor students, more foster youth, and more students who are still learning English. Here's a clear description of the plan from EdSource.
If the Legislature approves the plan, it would be fully realized in the 2019-20 school year. No school district would get less than it received this school year.
District 2011-12 per student revenue from formula derived sources2019-20 per student revenue from formula derived sources
% Increase
Alameda USD $6,381 $9,379 47% Albany USD $6,050 $8,926 47.5% Berkeley USD $7,376 $9,932 34% Oakland USD $7,091 $10,951 54% Piedmont USD $6,086 $8,237 35% West Contra Costa USD $6,575 $10,836 64% Source: California Department of Finance