Most California districts would get more in federal aid than they’d lose in budget cuts | EdSource

Most California districts would get more in federal aid than they’d lose in budget cuts | EdSource

Most California districts would get more in federal aid than they’d lose in budget cuts
Districts argue they still need more money — distributed differently.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and coalitions of labor and school district groups are asserting that California schools won’t be able to open safely if Congress doesn’t provide more aid to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Yet by one measure, school districts collectively would get nearly as much in already promised federal aid as their proposed state funding would be cut in 2020-21. And many districts may get more than they’ll lose in state aid.

Through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that Congress passed in March, California’s K-12 schools would receive enough to cover more than 90% of the $6.4 billion that Newsom is proposing to cut from school districts’ and charter schools’ funding in the next state budget to make up for a massive projected decline in tax revenue.

Newsom is proposing a cut of approximately 8% of districts’ general fund, known as the Local Control Funding Formula. It provides a base amount and additional funding for “high-needs” students: English learners, and low-income, homeless and foster students in every district.

An EdSource analysis projects that of the 897 districts that receive their funding through the funding formula, 546 school districts and county offices of education — 60.4% of the total — would get more CARES Act funding than they’d lose in cuts to the funding formula. These numbers don’t include the 100-plus mostly wealthy “basic aid” districts excluded from the Local Control Funding Formula because their property tax revenues exceed what they would get through the formula.

The main factor for the wide differences in districts’ CARES Act funding is the allocation formula that Newsom has chosen to address students’ loss of learning as a result of pandemic-related school closures. He would direct $2.9 billion — about half of the CARES Act money going to K-12 — only to districts categorized as “concentration” districts under the funding formula. These are districts where at least 55% of students enrolled are high-needs.

All districts, however, would still be entitled to the rest of the CARES Act money: an CONTINUE READING: Most California districts would get more in federal aid than they’d lose in budget cuts | EdSource