CROSS CUTTING ISSUES

Finance

The Draft Master Plan (section on "Affordability....") states in summary that basic K-12 educational funding is now on a per-student basis, in amounts that are not based on actual costs. "This Master Plan envisions a fundamental change from a traditional focus of the K-12 financing system on equality of funding ... to one of adequacy, in which the essential components (personnel, materials, equipment, and facilities) necessary for an exemplary education are identified and provided. With this foundation of adequate resources for a high quality education, schools and students would be truly accountable for meeting established standards of achievement."

Postsecondary funding is also distributed in amounts that are similar for each full-time-equivalent student in a particular public system. Appropriations for the most part do not recognize the cost differences of different disciplinary programs, student learning support needs, format (lecture, lab, seminar, etc.) or level (lower division, upper division, or graduate). Because postsecondary enrollment is a privilege afforded by statute, not a constitutional guarantee, the State does not strive to meet the full cost. Federal and private grant funds pay a portion, as do student fees. The State has a significant influence on these fees and, therefore, on the perceived accessibility of postsecondary enrollment by the least advantaged learners. The committee states "we believe this Master Plan should seek to establish a financing system for postsecondary education that supports the goals" of access, affordability, choice, quality, efficiency, cooperation, accountability shared responsibility; and that as with K-12 the long-term objective of the State should be the alignment of allocation and expenditure with the actual costs of providing educational services.

• School Finance Overview: Focus on California; see yellow links at top for News, Laws and Policies, Research, Readings, Related Resources; publications are also listed
• School Finance: 2 page PDF overview of budget, sources, and needs (EdSource Online)
• A Primer on School Finance: Overview of California's system of school finance (EdSource Online)
• School Resources and Student Achievement in California: Financing is only part of the inequity issue (4 page PDF Research Brief; Public Policy Institute of California) Full report
• 2002-02 Budget Analysis: K-12 and postsecondary education in the 2002-03 Budget (Legislative Analyst's Office)
• School Finance and California's Master Plan: Report exploring needs-based school financing (Public Policy Institute of California)
• New Finance Models: Constructing new models that balance equity, adequacy and efficiency with responsiveness (Education Commission of the States issue paper)
• Closing the Education Gap: Costs and benefits of closing gaps in educational attainment; possible savings on public health and welfare plus increased tax revenues from higher incomes (RAND)
• Equity and Adequacy in Education Finance: Book review with links (EdSource Online)
• School Finance (Overview; Education Week On the Web)
• A Primer on Proposition 98 (Overview; EdSource Online)
• A Guide to Categorical Aid (Overview; EdSource Online)
• Reforming Categorical Program Funding (Legislative Analyst's Office)
• Local Bond Elections in California: Overview of recent trends in voter approval of local bond measures for school facility financing (2 page PDF file; EdSource Online)
• Losing Ground: National report on the affordability of Higher Education (Links to chapters on trends and states; National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education)
• 21st Century School Finance: The changing context (Education Commission of the States)
• School Finance State by State (3 page PDF file; Education Commission of the States)

Related issues:

Finance is related to many of the topics in the Master Plan; the links below lead to pages on this site that give more information in selected areas.

• Equity
• ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act)
• Governance
• Quality Education

If your organization has material that would be useful for the online dialogue but is not included in the preceding list, please e-mail a URL to <camp-info@network-democracy.org>.