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California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s biggest education priority in his proposed state budget — $915 million to recruit and train teachers — was eliminated in his May budget revision released Thursday.
The proposed funds are more than the amount spent for teacher development in the five previous years combined, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Now, the grants have become collateral damage as state finances rapidly decline during the coronavirus pandemic that has caused thousands of businesses to temporarily close and millions of residents to lose their jobs.
“The governor’s May Revise proposed budget reflects the unfortunate reality our state is facing — a $54 billion deficit over a two-year period due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento. “This revised budget proposal aims to safeguard essential government programs such as education — from early learning to K-12 schools to higher education. Over the next few weeks, the Legislature will partner with the administration to fine tune this proposal to protect essential public services.”
McCarty, who authored the bill that created the California Classified Employee Teacher Credentialing Program, said he was disappointed that funds for that program and other teacher recruitment and professional development programs had to be cut. “We have a higher need right now, which is funding our schools,” he said.
Last November the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing reported that the classified employee teacher credentialing program, which helps classified school employees — generally teachers’ aides, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and clerks — to become teachers, had more than 2,200 participants and had created 299 new California teachers.
Although most of the nearly $1 billion that was proposed was to extend existing grant programs, more than $300 million would have created entirely new programs.
Here are the programs that lost funding in Newsom’s proposed 2020-21 budget:
The elimination of these teacher development grants comes as the state enters another year of teacher shortages in schools in rural and low-income areas and in high-needs subjects like science, math, bilingual education and special education. The result has been a record number of teachers in classrooms who have not completed teaching preparation programs or have received only partial training.
The state has also pulled back some funding approved in the 2019-20 budget, including grants to train teachers in computer science, how to foster a positive school climate, social emotional learning and restorative justice as part of the Educator Workforce Investment Program.
“We still have a critical need in our teacher workforce and some of the programs, like the classified employee program, were proven to be successful,” McCarty said. “I’m confident we will continue to look at these programs.”
The system has enrolled more in-state residents, but not enough to meet targets set by the state.
Two prominent organizations say the proposal would dismantle progress made to improve reading instruction for those students.
Fresno City College professor Tom Boroujeni is unable to fulfill his duties as academic senate president while on leave, the latest update reads.
This is a continuing EdSource series on proven innovations in higher education that relate to the problems facing California’s higher education systems.
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el 4 years ago4 years ago
It's a good decision, especially since most likely schools are going to be laying off, not recruiting. The most we can do to recruit new teachers over the long term is to ensure steady, reliable employment for people who train for it and do a good job at following the training and in doing the best work they can. The biggest problem for recruiting teachers has been the very real possibility that you'd train hard, … Read More
It’s a good decision, especially since most likely schools are going to be laying off, not recruiting. The most we can do to recruit new teachers over the long term is to ensure steady, reliable employment for people who train for it and do a good job at following the training and in doing the best work they can. The biggest problem for recruiting teachers has been the very real possibility that you’d train hard, work hard, and then get laid off anyway.
We still need good programs to help teachers succeed, and I hope we’ll be able to restore funds that are effective at that in the future.