Gov. Newsom Makes Schools Eat 90% of California Deficit
Governor Newsom now faces a June 15 constitutional deadline to pass a state budget and finalize November ballot measures, such as AB 1955 that would make it a crime for teachers and school officials to tell parents their children are identifying as LGBTQ.
Newsom over the last 6 weeks has admitted his revised-revised-revised and re-revised 2023-204 state budget deficit is -$80 billion, rather than the -$19 billion he projected this time last year. Furthermore, he now admits the tax collection surpluses he projected for was predicting for 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 are now another -$92 billion deficit:
As a result, Newson is now admitting that in his second four-year term through 2026, he will have run an all-time-record for state deficits of $165.1 billion.
According to the non-partisan California Legislative Analyst Gabe Petek in an analysis of the new budget, “The May Revision puts the state on better fiscal footing and makes substantial progress toward structural balance.”
But the Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) warned that May Revision’s so-called “solution” added another $22 billion cut in K-12 and community college spending, on top of $26 billion of prior school funding reductions. As a result, K-12 schools and community colleges are set to shoulder about 90% of all the state spending cuts.
The LAO was especially critical of what he called a “maneuver” that would remove $8.8 billion in prior year Proposition 98 school overpayments, reclassify them as off-the-books cash loan to be written off over five years, then convert $8.5 billion of restricted special educational reserve fund into a cash repayment to the state treasury.
The politically powerful California Teachers Association have been protesting the draconian cuts and began airing video ads criticizing the move a raid on children.
Politico reported on Tuesday that Newsom did cut a deal with CTA to increase future school spending by $5.5 billion. But most analysts have little confidence that Gov. Newsom’s 5th revised budget will be balanced, and no confidence in the state’s ability to in the state to generate surpluses to pay back schools and community colleges
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I would like to know if Charter Schools will still get state funds. If the schools will suffer the most, will the state find ways to keep the money from those schools? Thank you.
I understand there is a second recall going around, now hooking my breath that the view will be accurate, Marie Matos