Deferred payments to California schools and community colleges will fall to their lowest level in five years this academic year, and repayments for previous deferrals is starting sooner than expected. Instead of waiting until January, the state will pay back $1.57 billion it borrowed from K-12 schools next week, and the $300 million owed to community colleges is all scheduled to arrive this Friday rather than half this month and half next.
“It’s yet another indicator that the state’s fiscal condition is continuing to improve,” said State Finance Director Ana Matosantos, giving credit to “a sound budget, diligent debt management, and the passage of Proposition 30.”
But the eye-catching gift-wrap of this early holiday present may overstate what’s inside. “It doesn’t rise to the big public policy announcement that [Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration] has given us,” said Robert Miyashiro, Vice President of School Services of California, an education management and advocacy company. “It’s certainly welcome, but it