Stabilizing school funds

In response to Akifa Khan’s Blowback, “Thank you, teachers,” I’d like to stress that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger knows that education is a top priority for all Californians and that our future is only as strong as our schools. And he understands that the reduction he has proposed to total education spending, from $70.7 billion in the current year to $68.5 billion for the next budget year, hurts. Good teachers should not have to receive pink slips; school districts should not have to face this kind of budget uncertainty; and communities should not have to fear that the quality of education in their classrooms will decrease because of a broken budget system.

Since taking office, Schwarzenegger has increased K-12 General Fund education spending $10.1 billion, or 34%; has increased per-pupil spending more than $2,000, or almost 22%; and has fought tirelessly for the passage of Proposition 1D, which includes $10.4 billion in new funds to modernize K-12 and higher education facilities. Schwarzenegger would like nothing more than to continue to invest more in our schools. But until we fix our broken budget system, California’s education system will remain vulnerable to the same devastating budget cuts for years to come.

Schwarzenegger believes that we must take action now to protect the future of California. That is why he has introduced common-sense reforms to stabilize our budget system and ensure that our state’s school districts never again have to make these difficult decisions. Under these reforms, the governor will provide a long-term, reliable and predictable funding stream to California’s schools by creating a real budget reserve. This rainy-day fund will take in and save money in the good times to cover shortfalls in the bad times. Revenues would be smoothed out. The governor has also proposed restoring the ability to adjust the state’s budget midyear, so when we see a deficit coming, cuts will be moderate rather than severe.

For years, our broken budget system has taken California’s children on a roller coaster ride of increased funding when revenues are flush and cuts when revenues slow down. This feast-or-famine cycle is not sustainable. It hurts our schools, and Californians deserve better. It is time to end volatility and restore some stability to the state’s budget system for the future of our children, our schools and our state. While we can’t avoid the tough choices this year, there is something we can do about the future. The time for action is now.

Dave Long is the California secretary of Education.

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