News Analysis: April taxes could ease passage of Brown’s school funding plan
As has been the practice in recent years, state controller John Chiang has once again opened web access to his office’s daily tally of personal income tax collections.
While always popular – especially for government officials whose fiscal fate is so directly tied to the annual levy – the take this year may also inform developments in the political arena when it comes to reshaping how the state supports K-12 education.
So far, the numbers are promising – the controller reports collecting slightly more than $43.3 billion through March this fiscal year, about $10 billion more than this time last year. Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration has projected as part of its January budget that the state would receive a total of $12.75 billion in personal income taxes in April with a year-to-date total of $51.4 billion.
Because income taxes account for about 60 percent of the state’s general fund revenue – these numbers will be watched very carefully over the next few weeks.
One group that might not have always had the same interest in the daily tax numbers are the political advisers in and
UC, CSU systems revamping A-G criteria in advance of common core
By Kimberly Beltran
Monday, April 08, 2013
As California’s K-12 schools move to new common core curriculum, the state’s public four-year university systems are also revising their entrance course guidelines to provide clearer direction for high schools developing new standards-aligned, college-required classes.
Known as “A-G” requirements, these high school courses that students must pass to be admitted to any of the state’s four-year, post-secondary institutions must meet certain specifications in order to be approved by a panel of collegiate subject-area experts.
“With the common core state standards coming online, schools are creating interesting new courses that don’t necessarily fit into our old A-to-G guidelines,” said George Johnson, a professor of mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley and chair of the UC Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools. “That’s why we’re reviewing our own guidelines and their alignment to common core – so A-to-G isn’t seen as a barrier to creating new courses.”
California’s State Board of Education in 2010 adopted new curriculum standards in English language arts and math