Topic

Policy & Finance

California, under Gov. Jerry Brown, has shifted control over budgeting and decision-making from the state to local districts. But Sacramento – through the State Board of Education and the Legislature – and Washington, D.C., still retain authority over setting broad education and school finance policies. EdSource Today is tracking the development of the Local Control Funding Formula, California’s new school finance system, and how districts are implementing this reform.

March 21, 2019

California school district pension payments: How EdSource did this story

EdSource analyzed state data to determine how per-student payments to employee pension funds increased for most districts from 2013-14 to 2017-18.

Rose Ciotta

March 21, 2019

California school districts' rising employee pension costs

Look up per-student pension costs for districts across California with this interactive database, and see how much they've changed since a 2012 state law passed to rescue the state’s two pension systems.

Phillip Reese And Daniel J. Willis

March 21, 2019

Interactive Map: Changes in pension costs for California school districts

View the changes in per-student pension costs across California school districts - Unified, Elementary and High school

Yuxuan Xie, Daniel J. Willis, And Phillip Reese

March 21, 2019

New data detail soaring costs of California school pensions

Districts’ average payments to pension funds CalSTRS and CalPERS doubled to about $1,000 per student in 2017-18. But contributions varied among districts and will continue to rise for at least two more years.

John Fensterwald

March 19, 2019

Darling-Hammond: Building a 'world class and equitable education system in California'

In her first remarks as president of the State Board of Education, Linda Darling-Hammond says that California must prepare kids "to work with knowledge that hasn't been discovered yet, using technologies that haven't been invented yet, solving big problems that we have not yet managed to solve."

EdSource Staff

March 17, 2019

Push underway to lower the barrier for school districts to pass a parcel tax

If the Legislature agrees, voters in November 2020 will consider lowering the threshold for approval from two-thirds to 55 percent.

John Fensterwald

March 15, 2019

Linda Darling-Hammond becomes president of California's State Board of Education

Before being named to the board, Darling-Hammond had served for six years as chair of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Louis Freedberg

March 14, 2019

Gov. Newsom's early childhood advisor describes 'whole-child, whole-family, whole-community' strategy

Giannina Pérez previously worked for Early Edge California and Children Now, both well-known children’s advocacy organizations. As an advocate, she worked to expand training for early childhood educators to better support children who speak languages other than English at home.

Zaidee Stavely

March 14, 2019

Charter school supporters unveil battle strategy against push to restrict growth in California

The California Charter Schools Association takes aim at the California Teachers Association.

Diana Lambert

March 12, 2019

Bringing education closer to home helps vulnerable kids

Initiative takes afterschool programs to affordable housing communities.

Jennifer Peck

March 8, 2019

California governor's new task force on charter schools convenes

The task force will examine the financial impact of charter schools and report back to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

John Fensterwald

March 8, 2019

Increasing subsidized child care and pay for providers crucial for California, report says

The California Assembly Blue Ribbon Commission on Early Childhood Education released its long-anticipated draft report for how to improve child care and preschool throughout the state.

Zaidee Stavely

March 5, 2019

California gets boost from federal government to expand early learning

The state will use a $10.6 million grant to identify gaps in early learning services for children from birth to age 5 and decide on steps to meet those needs.

Zaidee Stavely

March 5, 2019

Gov. Newsom signs legislation requiring charter school transparency in California

Both the California Teachers Association and the California Charter Schools Association, which have been waging a high-profile battle over charter schools, were represented at signing event in the Capitol. The bill became law only two weeks after it was first heard in committee in the State Capitol.

Louis Freedberg And Diana Lambert

March 4, 2019

Oakland school board cuts $20.2 million from budget, including 100 jobs

Board member Jody London said the district could not give teachers the raises it agreed to in settling the recent strike without making the cuts.