LCFF money includes requirements, sanctions limiting K-3 class size
By Tom Chorneau
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
An overlooked but still key provision of Gov. Jerry Brown’s new funding formula for schools requires districts to maintain average class sizes at no more than 24 students – or risk losing some of their funding.
In a new report released Monday by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, researchers pointed out that the newly enacted Local Control Funding Formula provides a grade span differential generally intended to recognize the higher cost of services to older students.
But the LCFF also provides an adjustment that increases state support for kindergarten through grade three – additional money intended to cover the cost of limiting class sizes in those early years.
The adjustment increases the K-3 base rate by 10.4 percent (or initially $712 per average daily attendance)—for an adjusted initial K-3 base rate of $7,557, according to the LAO.
However, districts could lose all that additional funding if any particular school site exceeds the required class size, unless school officials have negotiated a collective bargaining agreement with their teachers’ union that sets class