California law severely limits local school districts' revenue-raising authority compared to most other states, which allow districts to raise local property taxes to support schools. School districts are primarily funded by revenues allocated by the state through complex formulas established decades ago. In California, school districts have…

California entered 2010-11 with a longstanding imbalance between ongoing spending and income. To help close that gap, state policymakers suspended Proposition 98, the minimum funding guarantee for K-12 schools and community colleges. In total, revenues for K-12 schools are down nearly 10% this year compared with 2007-08. Yet more cuts loom as the…

Statewide about one-third of the funds that K-12 schools receive in 2007-08 are from categorical programs designated to serve specific purposes. School agencies receive varying amounts depending on district characteristics, the programs they choose to operate, and the proportion of the state's 6.3 million students that they serve. These tables…

Another year of financial difficulty for the state of California led to the suspension of the minimum-funding guarantee that has provided some financial protection for schools in recent years. In a negotiation with education leaders Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger managed to craft the suspension in a way that protected education's interests at the…

When voters approved Proposition 98 as an amendment to the California Constitution, they sought to guarantee public schools and community colleges a level of funding that would at least keep pace with growth in student population and the personal income of Californians and at best increase the amount schools receive. The calculation of the…

Calls for changes in California's complex state-run school funding system, provided the backdrop for "Overhauling School Funding in California: The Push for Greater Adequacy, Equity, and Accountability," the EdSource 27th Annual Forum in March 2004. Participants discussed approaches for determining what would constitute adequate funding,…

In a state as large and complex as California, education financing can become as complicated as rocket science. This two-page Q&A provides a brief, easy-to-understand explanation of California's school finance system and introduces the issues of its adequacy and equity. A list of resources providing additional information is provided.