Brown wants to keep details of his school finance plan in the state budget, not create a policy bill.
Gov. Jerry Brown hasn’t yet presented the substance of his plan to reform K-12 school finance, but already he’s in a disagreement with the Legislature over its form.
Brown’s position that his Local Control Funding Formula will be included as part of the state budget is meeting resistance from legislative leaders, who see this as an end-run around a full public process that’s required for significant policy changes. They’re insisting that Brown submit a bill that would go through policy-making committees, likely the Assembly and Senate Education Committees.
Rick Simpson, deputy chief of staff and education adviser to Assembly Speaker John Pérez, wrote in an email to EdSource Today that the Assembly’s position is simple: “No bill? No law. Period.”
Mark Hedlund, communications director for Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, wrote in an email, the “process we use to consider legislation is the Legislature’s prerogative. Regardless of how and where this issue is considered, the bill will have to pass the muster of our appropriate
Districts urged to hold off buying high-risk construction bonds - by John Fensterwald
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and State Treasurer Bill Lockyer called Thursday for school districts to stop issuing capital appreciation bonds, or CABs, which can leave taxpayers with huge balloon payments, until the Legislature has had time to impose new restrictions on their use. “We are convinced that remedial legislation is needed to prevent abuses and ensure that...