State Must Shift Funds to Schools, Analyst Says

The legislative analyst’s office concluded Tuesday that the state must budget as much as $670 million more for schools this year and next because it undercounted students by as many as 90,000.

The nonpartisan analyst called the magnitude of the discrepancy, between 60,000 and 90,000 students, unusually high.

The analyst’s bulletin attributed the unexpected growth to a variety of factors, including reforms such as class size reduction and increased use of charter schools, which may have prompted some parents to take children out of private schools and put them in public schools.

Provisions of the recent overhaul of welfare aimed at combating truancy also may be forcing more students back into the classroom.

The additional $450 million to $670 million is a small fraction of the $25.7 billion the state intends to spend on public schools next year.

However, a shift of that magnitude to schools could force significant reductions in spending on other state programs included in Gov. Gray Davis’ proposed budget for fiscal 1999-2000, such as those dealing with the environment and higher education. It could also limit future raises for state workers.

Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill suggested steps the Legislature could take to reduce the impact, including trimming the proposed $5,944 per pupil that Davis wants the state to spend next year.

Davis’ Department of Finance spokesman Sandy Harrison said that any enrollment increases will be taken into account in May when Davis issues his revised budget.

Assembly Budget Committee Chairwoman Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego) said the new estimates of enrollment will pose budget problems. But she also said other factors such as rising property tax collections may produce additional revenue for schools.

“We need to fully fund education. That’s the No. 1 priority,” Ducheny said.