O.C. May Test School Fund Rules

In what one California education official calls a potential “sea change in school funding,” state legislation would give an Orange County school district unprecedented freedom to spend $10 million in funds that usually are restricted.

The groundbreaking plan, which will be considered by the Assembly Education Committee today, would allow the Capistrano Unified School District to spend money earmarked for teaching English or physical fitness to start Asian language programs or hire counselors--or any way it chose.

If the bill, SB240, is passed and the new spending freedom is deemed a success, officials may consider freeing other high-performing school districts from the state’s tight financial reins.

The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside) and already has passed the Senate.

The move was born of the district’s failure last year to gain charter status and free itself from much of the state Education Code. It has won the backing of both the powerful state teachers union and the California Department of Education, which opposed the district last time.

“We are talking about a significant sea change in school funding,” said Teri Burns, the department’s deputy superintendent for governmental affairs.

“We want to see how a high-performing district does with this much flexibility.”

Supt. James Fleming, long an advocate for local control, said parents, teachers and administrators in his district’s 44 schools know better than bureaucrats in Sacramento how money should be spent.

“The days of one-size-fits-all do not fit any more,” he said.

The Department of Education endorsed the bill after Capistrano agreed to drop its plan to become a charter district.

Charter schools are given autonomy from much of the state Education Code in exchange for promises of better student performance.

State officials objected, saying it would create a paperwork nightmare and would leave no alternative for students who did not want to attend a charter school, Burns said.

The bill died in committee last year. When Morrow resubmitted it this spring, state officials worked out a compromise.

Under the revised plan, Capistrano would be the only district in California to participate in the three-year pilot project.

Most districts receive money from a variety of programs but are required to spend much of it in specific ways. For example, Capistrano receives $400,000 for anti-tobacco programs, Fleming said. Under the state bill, the district would not have to spend money on such programs.

Not all funds would be unrestricted. For example, money given to create smaller primary class sizes would still have to be used for that purpose. But funds for teaching English to students who lack fluency could be used in any way the district sees fit, Burns said. She added that the district has promised as part of the deal to maintain programs for at-risk students.

Because Capistrano typically posts high student test scores, many in the state Department of Education were willing to give it more flexibility, Burns said.

But there’s a condition: Students must continue to do well. State officials will rescind the district’s spending freedom “at any time if they don’t seem to be serving the kids,” Burns said.

“I assure you, if it doesn’t work for Capistrano, no one is ever going to do this.”