Brown’s funding plan faces vigorous review – and speed bump - by John Fensterwald
The chair of the Assembly Education Committee turned Gov. Jerry Brown’s comprehensive plan for education finance reform into bill form Thursday, ensuring that all aspects will get an extensive review, while raising the possibility that the plan may not pass in time to take effect July 1, as the governor wants.
Joan Buchanan, chair of the Assembly Education Committee (photo by Kathryn Baron).
The introduction of Assembly Bill 88 by Assemblymember Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, was not unexpected. Legislative leaders for a year have called on Brown to present his Local Control Funding Formula, radically transforming how K-12 schools will be funded, into a bill that could be debated and vetted, rather than being considered as one huge addendum to the budget. Several months ago, a legislative staff member involved in education issues described their position as “no bill, no deal.”
Buchanan has been clear on this point. A former long-time member of the San Ramon
