Following the direction of the California School Boards Association (CSBA), the Saugus Union School District Governing Board is expected to adopt a resolution Tuesday asking for the full and fair funding of California’s public schools.
The resolution asks the California legislature to raise school funding to the national average by 2020 and to the average of the top 10 states by 2025. It follows similar resolutions approved by the Newhall School District Governing Board and the Castaic Union School District Governing Board
In 2016, CSBA updated its 2007 report titled “Getting Down to Facts” and found that California’s public schools require an additional $22 billion to $40 billion annually, adjusted for inflation, to provide all public school students with access to a high-quality education.
It also found that California funds all schools at roughly $1,961 per student less than the national average and trails the average of the top 10 states by almost $7,000 in per-pupil funding.
With an average daily attendance of 9,767 in 2015-16, the Saugus district received $9,657 in per-pupil funding from local, state and federal resources. During the same school year, the national average for per-pupil funding was $12,252.
The resolution states that California falls in the bottom on nearly every measure of public K-12 school funding, with school staffing ranking in 45th in the percentage of taxable income spent on education, 41st in per-pupil funding, 45th in pupil-teacher ratios and 48th in pupil-staff ratios.
“It’s time we reverse the trend of shortchanging public schools and provide fair funding for all students, so they have the resources needed for success in college, career and civic life,” CSBA President Mike Walsh said in a statement.
By providing California’s public schools with additional funding, the resolution asserts that the state would close opportunity and achievement gaps, meet the demands of a 21st century education, prepare students for participation in a democratic society and increase overall student success.
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