San Diego Unified Asks the State for Tens of Millions More
New costs to shift all students to online learning amid the coronavirus pandemic are expected to pile up, according to the superintendents of the San Diego Unified and Los Angeles Unified school districts, who asked state legislators for more emergency funds totaling $3 billion statewide this week.
This post originally appeared in the March 27 Sacramento Report. Get the Sacramento Report delivered to your inbox.
New costs to shift all students to online learning amid the coronavirus pandemic are expected to pile up, according to the superintendents of the San Diego Unified and Los Angeles Unified school districts, who asked state legislators for more emergency funds totaling $3 billion statewide this week. If granted, San Diego Unified would receive roughly $51.5 million in additional emergency funds for 103,000 students.
The request received a generally warm reception from some members of the San Diego delegation, including Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron and Assemblyman Todd Gloria, who expressed the most support. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez had a chillier response and wanted to see the schools’ plan before writing a check.
San Diego’s superintendent Cindy Marten along with Los Angeles Unified chief Austin Beutner requested an extra $500 per student Monday, beyond their routine funding and the $100 million in state emergency funds already given to schools statewide for cleaning and protective gear.
Details about what exactly the districts want to spend that money on are scant, though Los Angeles Unified said in the press release it’s already spending $100 million to purchase 150,000 devices and provide internet for students who don’t have it, and online training for educators CONTINUE READING: San Diego Unified Asks the State for Tens of Millions More