Fourth District PTA, California State PTA

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From the VP for Advocacy...

September 4, 2008

Dear PTA Leaders and Advocates for Children,

Hello and welcome back to school!

Here is what is going on in advocacy right now: The state budget is not yet decided. Billions of dollars in support for schools and children’s programs hang in the balance as legislative leaders try to hammer out a deal. (For information on the delay, the various proposals, and the budget process, see the attached document.)

California State PTA and its fellow members of the Education Coalition support the following budget principles:

A balanced approach to the deficit that includes new, sustainable revenue as well as cuts
Rejection of deep cuts to education and other state programs affecting children
Rejection of borrowing and other gimmicks that put off solving budget problems
Rejection of spending caps that would limit future support of education to today’s inadequate level

Of the current proposals, the Joint Conference Committee budget plan most closely fits PTA priorities.

Your participation and action in the next few days can make a real difference to California children.

Let your legislators know your priorities. Express support of the Conference Committee plan.

Please take time to contact your elected representatives ASAP. Phone calls and faxes are most immediate. Emails through your representative’s website are also helpful. Identify yourself as a constituent if you are one. (To find your assemblymember and senator and their contact information, click here.)

Spread the word through PTA channels. Time is of the essence.

Yours truly,

Celia Jaffe, VP Advocacy
Fourth District PTA

California State Budget Stalemate
by Celia Jaffe, VP Advocacy, Fourth District PTA

September 4, 2008

The Delay
Believe it or not, the state budget still has not been settled. This is a record-breaking year, the latest state budget ever. This means that your school districts have started the year without know what their funding will be. Basic revenue apportionments will go to the schools, but categorical monies are held back until the state budget is passed. Other state funding that affects children is not paid out until a budget is passed. This includes Medi-Cal providers: $3 billion, Other social service programs: $874.2 million, Mental health: $709.3 million, and Developmental centers: $558.1 million.

The Budget Proposals
There are essentially three budget proposals in current circulation: the Senate/Assembly Joint Conference Committee’s budget, the Governor’s current proposal, and the Republican budget outline, just unveiled in the last few days. For an in-depth analysis of the Conference Committee budget versus the Governor’s May Revise, see the publication by the California Budget Project (www.cbp.org).

Here are a few salient points from each proposal:

Governor:

Higher Revenues:

1¢ sales tax increase for three years and/or borrowing on anticipated increases in income from the lottery;

Borrowing:

$15 billion in bond sales to be repaid from lottery increases and/or sales tax; borrowed money to be used for current year deficit and to build up a rainy day fund

Cuts to Education:

$3.9 billion less than the workload budget (last year’s funding plus COLA); funds zero of 5.66% statutory COLA; funds zero COLA on categoricals like Class Size Reduction and instructional materials.

Other Budget Cuts:

Child welfare services cut 11.4%; foster care cut 10%; eliminates CalWorks “Safety Net” and cash only payments for children
Future funding caps/budget cutting authority: Gives Governor unilateral authority to cut state funding during a budget crisis; spending cap

Conference Committee: (Failed to pass 2/3 vote strictly along party lines)

Higher Revenues:

Reinstates tax brackets for higher income taxpayers—10% for joint filing over $321,000 income and 11% for joint filings over $642,000; suspends laws about net operating loss deductions; reduces dependent tax credit for high income households.

Borrowing:

None

Cuts to Education:

$2.2 billion more for Prop 98 than Governor’s May Revise; still comes short of workload budget for education; funds 2.12% of the statutory 5.66% COLA on both revenue limits and categoricals

Other Budget Cuts:

No major reductions in other state programs affecting children.
Future funding caps/budget cutting authority: None

Republican Proposal: (Some highlights released, but entire plan not written up for consideration as of Sept 4.)

Higher Revenues:

None

Borrowing:

$2 billion, backed by lottery income

Cuts to Education:

Deeper than either Governor or Conference Committee

Other Budget Cuts:

Substantial; deeper cuts in social services to lessen cuts in education
Future funding caps/budget cutting authority: Hard spending cap based on current year; unilateral midyear budget cutting power by governor

Budget Process
The California constitution requires a 2/3 vote of each house to pass a budget. The Democratic legislative majority has backed the Conference Committee budget, but they lack the additional Republican votes to get the 2/3 vote for passage. Assembly speaker Karen Bass has indicated willingness to consider the sales tax increase proposed by the Governor instead of the higher tax brackets proposed in the Conference Committee, but only if made permanent. Republicans have vowed to oppose any tax increases. Democrats reject deeper cuts and caps on future spending.

To achieve success, any compromise proposal will need the support of the majority Democrats and approximately 15 Republican legislators.

Stay tuned in.
Stay involved.
Remind your legislator of your priorities as a constituent.

For more information, go to
www.capta.org - California State PTA
www.protectourstudents.org - The California Education Coalition
www.cbp.org - The California Budget Project

Thank you for reading through this and trying to understand a very complex issue. Your contacts with your legislators and their staff members don’t need to delve into specifics of the various plans. Just a reiteration of the main principles for a good budget is enough.

Go get ‘em! Together we make a difference.

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