In addition to the $4.4 billion the state is obligated to pay as its share of teacher and administrator pensions, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest budget includes $850 million more to lower school districts’ record contributions to the CalSTRS pension fund. The money will be distributed without regard to equity, and wealthy districts with the best paid teachers will get the biggest portion of the funding, author Carrie Hahnel found. “At a time when rising pension and benefit costs are squeezing school district budgets and leading to painful reductions in student services, the state should be seeking every opportunity to ease the burden on school districts through equity-centered policies, not regressive approaches that exacerbate inequities,” she writes.
