Statement on Governor Newsom’s 2019-2020 State Budget Proposal

In response to Governor Newsom’s 2019-2020 California State Budget proposal, The Education Trust-West issued the following statement:

As the Governor said, a state budget is a declaration of values – and this budget proposal is an equity-driven declaration of California’s values. We applaud Governor Newsom for proposing a budget that provides more resources for children and young people in our state’s marginalized communities to live, learn, and thrive. The Governor’s proposal takes a comprehensive approach to better supporting students who are undocumented, students who are currently or were formerly incarcerated, and students who are parents attending California colleges and universities. We are very glad to see the Governor propose funding for a much-needed preschool through workforce longitudinal data system, which we and other advocates have fought for. We are excited that in his first few days in office, Governor Newsom is proposing a number of investments that hold potential for advancing educational justice for our state’s low-income students and students of color.

 

Early learning and K-12 education

We are glad to see the Governor take up the pressing issue of early learning and offer a number of investments that support families and aim to close opportunity and achievement gaps early on in a child’s educational journey. In particular we applaud Governor Newsom’s focus on expanding access to full-day preschool for low-income children and expanding full-day kindergarten, two important steps toward closing achievement gaps even before they start. We are eager to see more details of how the Governor’s proposal will address existing income and racial disparities in access to early learning opportunities.

We appreciate that Governor Newsom is clearly committed to continuing the Local Control Funding Formula, and is also taking some important initial steps to address the urgent issue of fiscal adequacy for our K-12 schools and districts. We are glad to see Governor Newsom propose one-time funding to alleviate some of the pension burden on districts and to begin chipping away at California’s enormous pension liabilities. This provides a modest measure of relief to districts so they can continue to build student-centered budgets rather than cutting services and exacerbating inequities. Moving forward, we are eager to work together with policymakers and stakeholders on how to further address fiscal adequacy in California’s education system.

As an organization that has stood alongside our community partners in the ongoing fight for accessibility and transparency, we are also thrilled to see Governor Newsom propose funding to consolidate the School Accountability Report Card and California School Dashboard onto one online platform so that families and other stakeholders have an easy, one-stop-shop access to this essential school and district information.

 

Higher Education

We are glad to see the Governor not only investing more in California’s higher education system, which has been underfunded for far too long, but doing so in a way that is student-centered. The proposed investments also outline expectations for growth in access and enrollment, affordability, student success and completion initiatives. We are encouraged to see that Governor Newsom continues to support the implementation of the Student Centered Funding Formula by identifying opportunities for refinement that will ensure long-term sustainability. The investments Governor Newsom proposes also hold the potential to seriously advance student success by improving affordability and supporting marginalized student populations. The Governor’s inclusion of increased funding for immigrant and undocumented students, student parents, and currently and formerly incarcerated students sends a clear message that California cares about all of our students in the state’s colleges and universities, regardless of whether their path is a traditional one.

We also applaud the Governor’s focus on increasing student access and supporting enrollment growth by investing more in our UC, CSU, and Community College systems and exploring a CSU campus in San Joaquin County. This additional funding is much needed, and we urge the Governor and legislature to continue to explore more ways to increase access, especially for low-income students and students of color. Ensuring all Californians can pursue and complete high quality, postsecondary credentials and degrees without paying tuition is one piece of the puzzle that is California’s financial aid system. The Governor’s current “free college” proposal extends new financial support for tuition to less needy students but low-income students, who are nearly half of all students in our public college and university system, deserve additional support as well. These students need a commitment from California’s leaders to address non-tuition costs and ensure campuses have the resources to better serve them. We are eager to work closely with the Governor and others on making sure that system and campus leaders can maximize the student support components of the “free college” proposal, and work to expand Cal Grant awards further to truly make college accessible for all by addressing the full cost of college.

Governor Newsom’s proposed budget has put the status quo on notice – it is time for bold, decisive action for California’s students and families.  As the Governor said in his inaugural address, it is up to all of us to work together to “renew the California Dream for the next generation”. We stand ready to work with the Governor, state legislators, and our community partners and fellow advocates to ensure the final 2019-2020 state budget serves that vision.

The State Budget Process

Each year the Governor and the Legislature develop the state’s budget. Policymakers’ decisions during this process have a ripple effect across every aspect of state government, including California’s early, K-12, and higher education systems.

• In January of each year, the Governor proposes a state budget for the following fiscal year that begins on July 1st.
• In the spring, the Legislature holds hearings on parts of the proposed budget.
• In May, the Governor revises the proposed budget according to updated state revenues received in April. The revised budget is called the May Revision or “May Revise”.
• The Legislature may add to, or change, the Governor’s proposals and differences between proposals are negotiated as the final budget takes shape in the Legislature. The Legislature also develops and passes “trailer bills,” which direct the budget’s implementation. The Legislature must adopt the final budget by June 15th.
• Finally, the Governor signs the budget by July 1st, and has the discretion to reduce or eliminate any expenditure by line- item veto.

Budget At-A-Glance

P-12 Education

• Early Learning

• • Full-Day Kindergarten: The Governor proposes $750 million to expand facilities to accommodate full-day kindergarten, or to invest in efforts that remove barriers to full-day kindergarten.
  • Preschool for four-year-olds: The Governor proposes $124.9 million over 2 year to increase the slots for preschool to a total of 200,000 by 2021-2022, providing preschool to all low-income four-year-olds in the state. The proposed budget also includes shifting $297.1 million in Prop 98 funds to not-for-profit non-local education agencies, given the limited capacity at local education agencies.
  • Steps Toward Universal Preschool: The Governor proposes $10 million to fund the State Board of Education in partnership with the Department of Finance and the Department of Social Services to create a roadmap for providing universal preschool, as well as improving access to and quality of subsidized child care.
  • Subsidized Child Care: The Governor proposes $500 million to expand subsidized child care facilities and to invest in the education of the child care workforce to improve the quality of care.
• LCFF Investment: The Governor proposes an additional $2 billion to meet the 3.46% cost of living adjustment. This brings LCFF funding to a total of $63 billion.
• Pension Obligation Relief: The Governor proposes $3 billion in one-time funds, to be phased in over the next two years to mitigate the rising burden of pension costs for districts.
• Community Engagement and Transparency: The Governor proposes investing $350,000 to integrate the Local Control and Accountability Plan electronic template, California School Dashboard, and other school and district reporting tools including the School Accountability Report Card into one web-based application.
• System of Support: The Governor proposes an increase of $20.2 million for county offices of education following the formula adopted in the 2018 Budget Act to support school district improvement.
• Longitudinal Data System: The Governor proposes $10 million to plan for and develop a longitudinal data system that will connect student information from early education providers, K-12 schools, higher education institutions, employers, other workforce entities, and health and human services agencies into one comprehensive, longitudinal data system.
• Special Education: The Governor proposes $576 million to support expanded special education services in school districts with high concentrations of students with disabilities and unduplicated students. The Governor proposes districts use these funds to provide supplemental services beyond what students with disabilities already receive, as well as preventative services to reduce the need for services in future years.

Higher Education

• Overall Higher Education funding: Total funding of $36.4 billion, with a growth of $1.43 billion compared to the revised 2018-19 expenditures.
• Tuition: Given these investments in the Budget, it is expected that tuition at the UC, CSU, and CCC systems will not increase.
• California College Promise program: The Governor proposes $40 million in Prop. 98 General Funds to expand the California College Promise program (AB 19) to cover a second year of free community college for first time, full-time students. Also proposed is  $5 million in one-time General Fund for the Chancellor’s Office to expand outreach for the College Promise program.
• The Student Centered Funding Formula: The Governor’s Budget made some revision to the implementation of the new funding formula. This includes: maintaining the student success allocation in 2019-2020; capping the student success portion for year-to-year gains at 10%; and clarifying transfer student definition. The Budget also includes $435,000 in one-time non-Prop. 98 General Funds for the Chancellor’s Office to contract with an external organization to staff the Student Centered Funding Formula Oversight Committee.
•  Enrollment Growth:
  • UC: The Governor proposes $10 million in ongoing General Funds to support the enrollment of 1,000 additional California residents.
  • CSU: The Governor proposes $62 million in ongoing funds to expand enrollment by 2%, which is an increase of more than 7,000 students.
  • CCC: The Governor proposes an increase of $26 million from Prop. 98 for enrollment growth.
• Legal Services for Undocumented Individuals
  • UC: The UC’s Immigration Legal Services program is currently funded through the 2021-22 fiscal year due to the 2018 Budget Act. The Governor proposes $1.3 million in ongoing funds to support this program beginning in 2022-23.
  • CSU: The Governor proposes $7 million ongoing from the General Fund to provide legal services to undocumented students, staff, and faculty at the CSU.
  • CCC: The Governor proposes $10 million from the Prop. 98 General Fund to provide legal services to undocumented and immigrant students, faculty, and staff on CCC campuses.
• Cal Grant Awards for Private Non-Profit: The Budget assumes the independent institutions, as a whole, will meet their Associate Degrees for Transfer acceptance requirements in order to maintain the maximum Cal Grant tuition award at $9,084 for low-income students.
• Student Loan Awareness Initiative: The Governor proposes $5 million one-time funds from the General Fund to develop an outreach initiative to educate student loan borrowers about their loans, lending practices, and repayment options.
• Higher Education Innovation in San Joaquin and Inland Empire regions: The Governor proposes $10 million in one-time General Funds to support innovative strategies, promote partnerships, and collaborative efforts to increase postsecondary capacity, reduce achievement gaps, and create a multi-generational culture of educational attainment.
• University of California
  • Expanding UC Extension Centers: The Governor proposes $15 million in one-time General Funds to support degree completion and certificate program for individuals with some college but no degree.
  • Degree Attainment, Student Success, and Equity: The Governor proposes $49.9 million in ongoing General Funds to support student success, improve students’ timely completion, and close degree attainment gaps for student from disadvantaged backgrounds.
  • Mental Health Services: The Governor proposes $5.3 million in ongoing General Funds to support mental health services.
  • Food and Housing Insecurity: The Governor proposes $15 million in ongoing General Funds to address student hunger and housing needs.
• California State University
  • Graduation Initiative 2025: The Governor proposes $45 million ongoing from the General Fund to support continued progress towards the goals of improving students’ timely degree completion and reducing students’ total cost.
  • Deferred Maintenance and On-Campus Child Care Centers: The Governor proposes $247 million one-time General Funds to address the deferred maintenance backlog and improve or expand on-campus child care centers.
  • CSU Basic Needs Initiative: The Governor proposes $15 million in one-time General Funds for the CSU to assist each campus’ existing efforts addressing student hunger and housing needs.
  • CSU Expansion Planning: The Governor proposes $2 million in one-time General Funds for the Chancellor’s Office to explore a potential CSU campus in San Joaquin County.
  • Project Rebound: The Governor proposes $250,000 General Fund ongoing to support Project Rebound, a program that provides assistance to formerly incarcerated individuals seeking to enroll in participating CSU campuses.
• California Community Colleges
  • CalSTRS Employer Contribution: The Governor proposes $3 billion in a one-time payment to CalSTRS which will decrease the employer’s pension liabilities.
  • Cost Of Living Adjustment: The Governor proposes an increase of $248.3 million from the Prop. 98 General Fund for a 3.46 cost-of-living adjustment.
• California Student Aid Commission
  • Increased Access Award for Student Parents: The Governor proposes $121.6 million to increase or provide access awards for students with dependent children attending the UC, CSU, or the CCCs. New or renewal Cal Grant A students will receive an access award of up to $6,000. New or renewal Cal Grant B students will increase their award to $6,000. Cal Grant C students will see their award increase to $4,000.
  • Increase Amount of Competitive Cal Grant Awards: The Governor proposes $9.6 million to increase the number of Competitive Cal Grant Awards by 4,250. The total number will increase from 25,750 to 30,000.