OAKLAND, CA (May 14, 2012) The EdTrust—West issued the following statement regarding Governor Brown’s May budget revision:

“After five straight years of budget deficits, Governor Brown is rightly acknowledging the severity of our current crisis. In this difficult context, we applaud the Governor for continuing to press for a weighted student formula proposal that would fund school districts based on the needs of their students. We also commend him for requiring districts to spend the additional dollars generated by low-income students and English Learners on these students.

However, we remain deeply concerned by the Governor’s budget strategies. The Governor once again bases his budget and the weighted student formula proposal on rosy economic scenarios and the passage of his ballot initiative. While ostensibly increasing funding for schools, he is actually cutting them by over $5 billion, given that few districts will base their final June budgets on the results of the November election. This strategy will likely lead to additional staff layoffs and cuts in support services. It will also allow districts to slash a total of 15 additional school days, leaving California with the shortest school year in the nation. As in previous years, these cuts will disproportionately fall on California’s highest need students, particularly low-income students, students of color and English Learners.

California’s underserved students cannot afford another year of cuts of vital education supports and services. We believe that there is ample time in the current budget year to develop a state budget that provides districts and schools with the funding and stability they need. We call on our leadership in Sacramento to focus on building a responsible budget that prioritizes the needs of students, and places our state on a path to the financial stability that California’s communities and schools deserve.”

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About The EdTrust—West

The EdTrust—West works for the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, pre-k through college. We expose opportunity and achievement gaps that separate students of color and low-income students from other youth, and we identify and advocate for the strategies that will forever close those gaps.