Joan Buchanan

May 9, 2023

Two dozen views on LCFF: Is California's funding law working and what could improve it?

Educators and advocates, parents and political leaders across the spectrum agree that the funding formula had great promise — and still does. But they widely disagree on what’s hindering the potential to unravel inequities.

John Fensterwald

Year in Review

January 3, 2020

Gavin Newsom's 1st-year K-12 scorecard: good grades on priorities and some incompletes

He forged a compromise to revise California's charter school law and gave districts unexpected help to pay employee pension obligations.

John Fensterwald

School Finance

October 20, 2016

Prop. 51: Initiative would provide billions for school renovation and construction

It is the first statewide school construction bond measure since 2006.

Theresa Harrington

Elections and Education

August 14, 2014

School bond moves on to uncertain fate

Update: After a week in legislative limbo, a bill that would have placed a $4.3 billion school construction bond on the November ballot is now officially dead. With a veto by Gov. Jerry Brown likely, Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, pulled AB 2235.

John Fensterwald

Legislation

June 26, 2014

Bill simplifying teacher firings now law

Gov. Brown ended three years of high-decibel battles in the Legislature on Wednesday by signing a bill he helped shape that should make it quicker and easier to fire teachers accused of the most abhorrent forms of misconduct.