State, Vacaville Unified school nurses, advocate for students – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

For people of a certain age, having a school nurse on campus during class hours was a given.

But in Vacaville Unified and other California school districts — and in many other states — the assignment of a school nurse at each campus is downright rare in 2015. School nurses today are often assigned to two or more school sites, visiting each campus on alternating days or, in many cases, every three or four days.

As the nation’s 73,000 school nurses celebrate a special day today, National School Nurse Day, California ranks 40th out of 50 states in terms of nurse-student ratios.

According to 2013 data from the California School Nurses Organization, there is one nurse for every 2,850 of the state’s roughly 6.2 million public school students. The recommended ratio is one to 750 and one to 100 for special needs students.

via State, Vacaville Unified school nurses, advocate for students, handle array of health needs in 2015.

Schools CBO: $600,000 plus shortfall this fiscal year – Benicia Herald

By Keri Luiz

Chief Business Official Tim Rahill will present the second interim financial report Thursday to school board trustees, showing that Benicia Unified School District will operate at a loss of more than $600,000 in Fiscal Year 2014-15.

The district provides the 2014-15 second interim financial report using information from the state budget, with the new state Local Control Funding Formula (LCCF) for schools and certain budget assumptions, Rahill wrote in a report to the board.

The LCCF is the new way the state funds school districts, including BUSD.

via Schools CBO: $600,000-plus shortfall this fiscal year.

New school funding plan remains on bumpy path – Daily Republic

By Dan Walters  |

California’s long-running conflict over how its public schools should be held accountable for educational outcomes entered a new phase this week.

A broad coalition of civil rights and education reform groups fired a broadside at a draft proposal for evaluating how K-12 schools implement the new Local Control Funding Formula, which supposedly targets poor and “English-learner” students for more money and attention.

Representatives of 19 groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP and Ed-Voice, issued the critique to WestEd, a San Francisco think tank that’s writing “evaluation rubrics” for the state Board of Education.

via New school funding plan remains on bumpy path Daily Republic.

School district schedules special meet for budget priorities – Daily Republic

By Susan Winlow

A special study session will occur Tuesday to review the governor’s proposals for the 2015-16 school year and what it all means for the Fairfield-Suisun School District.

District reports tout the budget as a “good state budget for public education” and “a positive year for education,” which for Fairfield-Suisun means projected Local Control Funding Formula revenue of nearly $162.9 million for 2015-16.

The improved economy has boosted the Proposition 98 minimum funding guarantee.

Proposition 98 passed in 1988 and established minimum funding for kindergarten through community college districts based on a set percentage of state revenue. As the state revenue increases, money into school coffers increases. This increase shows in the governor’s proposed state budget for 2015-16 as a $65.7 billion guarantee to California schools, an increase of $2.5 billion or 4.1 percent.

via School district schedules special meet for budget priorities Daily Republic.

School funding reforms spur decisions at local level | EdSource

By Karla Scoon Reid

California’s new school funding system is driving districts in diverse regions of the state to shift their resources to achieve one of the key goals laid out in the sweeping financial reform effort – graduating students so they are ready for college or careers.

That’s what EdSource found as it tracked seven public school districts over the last six months as part of its “Following the School Funding Formula” project. Every California district had to adopt a plan outlining how it will spend state funds under the new Local Control Funding Formula, which also requires school systems to show how they will improve the educational outcomes of “high-needs” students – low-income pupils, English learners and foster children.

 

via School funding reforms spur decisions at local level | EdSource.

LCFF Funding Snapshot Available – Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education)

SACRAMENTO—Local educational agencies can now see the highly anticipated first official calculations of $42 billion in school funding they will receive under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today. The calculations for school districts and charter schools are displayed in the traditional funding exhibits, plus a new “LCFF Funding Snapshot.”

“California’s new funding formula puts more decisions about education funding where they belong—in the hands of schools, parents, and teachers—and dedicates more resources to students most in need,” Torlakson said. “The information we are providing today will help administrators, teachers, and parents as they work together to help all students succeed.”

The LCFF was enacted as part of the 2013 Budget Act and provides a new method of funding local educational agencies (LEAs). LEAs now receive base funding for all students and additional funding if they serve students who are learning English, in foster care, or are low income.

via LCFF Funding Snapshot Available – Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education).

School board to see vital funding doc – Benicia Herald

By Keri Luiz

After months of input, workshops, planning, meetings and a public hearing, Benicia Unified School District’s Local Control Accountability Plan will finally go before trustees Thursday for approval.

Also on a busy agenda for the school board is the awarding of a contract for replacement of Benicia Middle School’s roof and gutters, and a new job description for a director of the bond project are also slated for the board’s approval.

But the 2014-15 budget and the LCAP, used for measuring the progress of the school district and required for a school district to have in place to receive state Local Control Funding Formula LCCF funding, will be trustees’ top order of business.

via School board to see vital funding doc.

Board to host pair of public hearings – Benicia Herald

By Keri Luiz

Two public hearings will take place at Thursday’s meeting of the Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees: one for the Local Control Accountability Plan and one for the 2014-15 budget.

The LCAP is used for measuring the progress of students. School districts must have an LCAP in place to receive state funds through Local Control Funding Formula LCCF funding.

The LCCF is the new way that the state of California funds school districts like BUSD. All restricted categorical funds are rolled into a base funding per student, plus a supplemental grant add-on for English learners, low-income students and foster youth.

For BUSD, the LCCF provides about $6,804 per student, with the funding based on attendance of students, not just enrollment.

The LCAP is part of the BUSD budget process and includes three sections: student outcomes; student and parent engagement; and conditions of learning.

via Board to host pair of public hearings.

First official count of high-needs students under new funding formula is in | EdSource Today

By Jane Meredith Adams

After a frenetic effort to count every high-needs student in the California public school system, the first official tally under the sweeping new K-12 finance law is in – and the results are mixed.

In three of the five largest school districts, the number of students who stand to benefit from the law is lower than expected, a consequence, some say, of inflated estimates, complicated data requirements and insufficient efforts to collect paperwork from parents.

“Districts are going to have a choice: Are we willing to be OK with being somewhat undercounted every year, or are we really going try to develop an outreach strategy upfront?” said Oscar Cruz, president of Families In Schools, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that works to increase parent involvement in schools.

via First official count of high-needs students under new funding formula is in | EdSource Today.

School district gets paperwork in order – Benicia Herald

By Keri Luiz

A draft of the Local Control Accountability Plan, used for measuring the progress of Benicia’s schools, will be reviewed Thursday by trustees.

The board also will consider an annual “declaration of need” for fully qualified educators, and a reduction in some school services.

The LCAP must be in place for a school district to receive Local Control Funding Formula LCCF monies from the state. Through the LCCF, funds have been rolled into a base funding per student, plus a supplemental grant add-on for English learners, socioeconomically needy students and foster youth.

The LCCF provides about $6,321 per student, and the funding is based on attendance of the students, not just enrollment.

via School district gets paperwork in order.

Statewide education group honors Wolk – Daily Republic

By Amy Maginnis-Honey

The California County Boards of Education on Sunday presented state Sen. Lois Wolk with its legislator of the year award for her ongoing support of public education.

This is the first time the award has been bestowed in years, due to historic budget cuts to education during the state’s economic recession.

Heidi Weiland, California County Boards of Education president, praised Wolk’s efforts on behalf of the Local Control Funding Formula, the Local Control and Accountability Plan and Common Core state standards.

via Statewide education group honors Wolk Daily Republic.

Gov. Brown proposes change in tallying of low-income students for funding formula | EdSource Today

By Jane Meredith Adams

In his May budget revision, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday proposed a change that will allow school districts to more broadly define who is eligible for a free or reduced-price meal and, by association, who is identified as low-income and eligible to receive extra state education funds. The proposal would affect more than 1 million students who fall into a gray area of free lunch eligibility.

While the new Local Control Funding Formula requires school districts to count low-income students annually, and ties funding to the tally, Brown’s proposal would allow a subset of schools with large numbers of low-income students to count them only once every four years. Instead of individual student data, schools where more than 80 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-price meals would be allowed to submit a group percentage of low-income students. The proposal would allow the schools to continue the system they have used for years, although it requires that districts be diligent about verifying student family income levels every four years.

via Gov. Brown proposes change in tallying of low-income students for funding formula | EdSource Today.

School board welcomes public to workshop on funding – Benicia Herald

by Keri Luiz

The Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees will meet early Thursday evening for a workshop on the Local Control Accountability Plan, which is tied to how the Local Control Funding Formula is funded.

The workshop will be facilitated by Superintendent Janice Adams, Chief Business Official Tim Rahill and Curriculum Director Marie Morgan.

The Local Control Funding Formula is the new way that California funds school districts like Benicia’s, based on funding per student plus a supplemental grant add-on for English learners, students with socioeconomic disadvantages and foster youth.

The LCCF provides about $6,321 per student, and the funding is based on attendance of the students, not just enrollment.

via School board welcomes public to workshop on funding.

Parent Engagement, Not Just Involvement, Key to LCFF Success – New America Media

By Anna Challet,

For Sandy Mendoza, advocacy manager of the Los Angeles-based organization Families in Schools, the difference between parent involvement and parent engagement could make or break California’s new school funding law.

The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), she says, “is going to be an opportunity for us to help the parents become more than involved – rather, it’s becoming more engaged … Involvement means more what the district wants from parents [in order] to fit [the district’s] agenda, as opposed to engagement, which means really listening to what the parents want and what they need.”

Educators, advocates, and community members came together recently at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation to discuss the new law. Over the next 8 years, education spending in California will increase, and more money will be allocated to districts with greater numbers of high-needs students. Districts will now have more flexibility in how they spend funds, but they’ll also be more accountable for the outcomes of their decisions. This spring, school districts are required to develop their Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs), which detail how they’ll serve their high-needs students, and, crucially, must incorporate community input.

via Parent Engagement, Not Just Involvement, Key to LCFF Success – New America Media.

Vaca school leaders to hold special meeting – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

A key component of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula, state school districts’ Local Control Accountability Plans detail what educators, governing boards and teachers must do to educate students and how they are going to measure results.

LCAP, as it is called for short, will be the subject of a special meeting of Vacaville Unified leaders when they meet Monday in Vacaville.

In previous interviews, Superintendent Ken Jacopetti described the historic change in school funding and LCAP as “a new journey for a lot of school districts.”

 

via Vaca school leaders to hold special meeting – The Reporter.

Vallejo school board begins new budgeting process – Vallejo Times Herald

By Jessica A. York

The Vallejo School district launched its first step in budgeting planning for next school year on Wednesday, even as plans for some $4 million in new state funding entered their second stage.

Vallejo City Unified School District Superintendent Ramona Bishop updated the school board on her office’s outreach to various focus groups — ranging from students and parents to teacher and management — to create the first Local Control Accountability Plan.

Under Gov. Jerry Brown’s January spending plan, Vallejo’s schools could see a $10 million budget increase. A large percentage of that would be locked in for programs supporting low-income students, English language learners and foster students, and%

via Vallejo school board begins new budgeting process – Vallejo Times Herald.

Some new school funding plans go awry – Daily Republic

By Thomas Elias

Gov. Jerry Brown and a lot of public school officials are just now rediscovering how right the 18th century Scottish poet Robert Burns was when he observed, “The best laid plans of mice and men oft’ go astray.”

The latest example in California is the new public school funding formula Brown aggressively pushed last year, one giving a greater portion of new money raised via the 2012 Proposition 30 tax increases to schools with the highest percentages of English-learner students, foster children and children from poverty-ridden homes.

Essentially, Brown wants to finish the job begun in 1971 by the Serrano v. Priest decision of the state Supreme Court, which directs most funds from newly approved property tax levies to the poorest districts.

via Some new school funding plans go awry Daily Republic.

CBO to school board: No fiscal-year funding woes expected | The Benicia Herald

By Keri Luiz, Assistant Editor

Benicia Unified School District Chief Business Official Tim Rahill presented to trustees last week a report on Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2014-15 budget proposal, saying that while the budget will go through changes known as the May Revise, overall “It is a positive budget for schools,” and “We will see additional funding here in Benicia.”

The specific amount is yet to be determined, he said, because of the new funding formula known as the Local Control Funding Formula LCCF. However, Rahill gave trustees a basic funding outline.

He said Brown proposes two “rainy day funds,” one specifically for schools and the other for everything else in the state budget.

via CBO to school board: No fiscal-year funding woes expected | The Benicia Herald.

State Board patiently listens, then quickly passes regs for funding law | EdSource Today

By John Fensterwald

After listening to nearly seven hours of 1-minute testimonies that were impassioned, instructive and inevitably repetitious, the State Board of Education, after little debate, unanimously approved temporary regulations Thursday fleshing out a historic education finance law. The new Local Control Funding Formula will not only transform how K-12 schools are funded, but also how student success is measured, and district budgets, with community involvement, are created.

While the latest draft was passed intact, the regulations had gone through substantial revisions over the past five months, as staff of the State Board sought to bridge the disagreements between civil rights and parents groups and school officials. Both sides acknowledged the final version was clearer and surprisingly close to consensus.

via State Board patiently listens, then quickly passes regs for funding law | EdSource Today.

California Board of Education to decide on new school funding plan – Sacramento Bee#mi_rss=Education

By Loretta Kalb

The California Board of Education is poised today to adopt emergency regulations guiding the state’s landmark plan for distributing money to the state’s 6.2 million-student school system.

The expected vote on the rules for the state’s new Local Control Funding Formula drew hundreds of educators, community leaders, student advocates and Gov. Jerry Brown to the meeting.

via California Board of Education to decide on new school funding plan – Education – The Sacramento Bee#mi_rss=Education.