Find out about California's new way of funding schools at upcoming meetings

Leadership from the San Diego Unified School District will be visiting Cluster Committee and other parent meetings over the next several months to discuss California's new school budget plan, called the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).

LCFF shifts the focus from funding dozens of state-mandated programs to funding based on local district control and student needs,” said Superintendent Cindy Marten, “with extra dollars allotted to low-income children, foster youth and English learners.”

According to the state Department of Education, each district creates a three-year plan not only for funding but for accountability; under the old budget system, district plans covered only funding. The California Department of Education is expected to issue guidelines in January for creation of the Local Control Accountability Plan, which ties student achievement to program funding.

“The funding formula and the local accountability plan in many ways bring the rest of the state into compliance with our district's Vision 2020,” said Dr. John Lee Evans, Board of Education President. “As we have outlined in the Vision 2020, we're making staff more accountable to ensure annual improvement in the education of our students.”

According to Vision 2020:

• Staff will develop both quantitative and qualitative measures to measure the broad range of achievement.
• Such measures will incorporate an individual growth model.
• Such measures will facilitate the improvement of instruction.
• Such measures will be readily available and understandable by students, parents and community members.
• Student achievement will also include measures of personal development and citizenship development.

The community meetings will give San Diego Unified residents the opportunity to hear about the new funding formula, its impact on the district budget and the expectations for the budget development process. If you want to learn more about the Local Control Funding Formula, visit the website at www.sandi.net/lcff or email lcff@sandi.net.

Find Out More

• Schedule of upcoming meetings on the new funding formula and the Local Control Accountability Plan»
• California Department of Education information on Local Control Funding Formula»
• Find out about your local cluster»

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School districts gain flexibility in governor’s budget proposal

Big changes may be afoot for school districts if Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed 2013-14 budget comes to fruition. Read more: San Diego Community News Group - School districts gain flexibility in governor’s budget proposal

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Latest state budget proposal shows increase in school funds

Adjustments to Gov. Jerry Brown's 2013-14 state budget proposal, commonly known as the "May Revise," may mean more funds for San Diego Unified next year.

Gov. Brown’s May revision to his proposals for the 2013-14 State Budget were released on Tuesday, May 14. It reflects changes in the national and state economic outlook and the corresponding effects on revenues generated from the passage of Proposition 30 and the state’s obligation to schools.

“We appreciate the Governor’s continued commitment to supporting our neediest students by maintaining his plan for the Local Control Funding Formula in his May budget proposal," said Superintendent Bill Kowba. "The new investment to support the transition to the Common Core with one time funding will also be very helpful to our district.

"Since ongoing funding for 2013-14 will change only slightly, San Diego Unified will need to stay the course on our budget strategy to balance our structural deficit next year with property sales and attrition based staff reductions. In future years as additional funding materializes, the district can begin to restore education programs that have been lost over the last five years of education budget cuts.”

The Governor’s proposed Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) funding model fixes the state's outdated and broken school finance system with a formula that allow schools maximum flexibility in allocating resources to meet local needs. It will be phased in over several years as funding increases for K‑12 education from Prop. 30 and will include accountability measures for academic and fiscal outcomes.

According to a preliminary analysis by San Diego Unified staff, the May revision proposal includes:

• An increase, over the original January proposal, in the repayment to district of previous year "deferrals," funds owed to school districts but held back by the state.
• A one-time expenditure statewide of $1 billion to help schools implement Common Core Standards, California's conversion of curriculum to a new national standard. Possibly an additional $18 million for San Diego Unified.
• Funds to make up for federal cuts in special education funding.
• The fundamental components of the Local Control Funding Formula proposal remain essentially unchanged from January, with an emphasis on providing additional resources to school districts with the highest concentrations of English learners, low-income students, and foster youth, and a commitment to ensuring there is local flexibility and local accountability.

The state Legislature faces a June 15 constitutional deadline for adopting the state budget for 2013-14. For more information on the Governor's plan, visit his website.

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Superintendent testifies before state legislature on budget issues

Superintendent Bill Kowba testified before the California Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee 1: Education on April 18. Here are his remarks on the topic of school district perspectives on local control funding formula.

Good morning Chairman Block, Senator Wyland, Senator Wright and Senator Leno:

Bill Kowba
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from UT San Diego»

I am Bill Kowba, Superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District. Thank you for the opportunity to address you today to share my perspective on Governor Brown’s proposed Local Control Funding Formula and its impact on school districts.

Let me begin by giving the members of the committee an overview of San Diego Unified to provide context for the diverse student population we serve. As the second largest school district in the state, we serve more than 130,000 students in pre-school through 12th grade. Approximately 65 percent of our students are free and reduced lunch recipients and 27 percent are English learners. In an urban setting as large and diverse as ours, with 223 schools, enhancing a district’s ability to design programs that best meet the needs of our students is of high importance. It is of equal significance that students with the greatest needs are provided adequate and even additional resources required to succeed in the classroom. These are two goals the Governor’s LCFF proposal is trying to achieve, and two of the reasons why San Diego Unified fully supports the proposal.

Support for LCFF: Focus on Local Decision Making, Flexibility and Accountability

I commend Governor Brown for his determined advocacy for public K-12 education and for his visionary leadership in restructuring an archaic education finance system.

I believe Governor Brown’s proposed new formula will address many problems inherent in the state’s existing K-12 funding structure. This major overhaul in education finance is a significant improvement relative to the current system. The existing distribution of state funds is convoluted and based on dozens of categorical programs with many restrictions and reporting requirements to the state.

With equity and flexibility as two of the core principles in the Governor’s proposal, the San Diego Unified Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution on April 9, explicitly stating the district’s support for the LCFF proposal with its focus on local decision making, local accountability and extended flexibility. We support the goal of developing a new state school finance system that is simple and transparent, one that focuses on local control and results in increased community engagement.

We enthusiastically back the Governor’s commitment to ensuring our education system is equitable and fair. Regardless of a school district’s student population or its geographical location in the state, school districts with the highest number and largest concentration of low-income and English learners deserve supplemental resources to help our neediest young people meet state standards and graduation requirements.

Maintaining the concentration thresholds of 50 percent at a district average, as currently proposed by the Governor's plan, will enable school districts to target supplemental resources to EL and low-income students. In the case of English learners, our district leadership and parent advisory committees may decide these students need supplemental services such as tutoring and smaller class sizes.

The specific strategies we would pursue will depend on whether the English learner is an elementary or secondary student. Best practices are linked to grade level. Having this local discretion in allocating resources is essential as districts create school budgets.

Given the scale, multi-community diversity and sizable continuum of student needs in San Diego Unified, we believe the district leadership is better suited to make decisions on how to allocate the resources appropriated by the state as we are the ones working closely with our students to reduce dropout rates, increase high school graduation rates and advance preparation for college and career.

By shifting decision making to the local level, school districts will better allocate resources to programs and school-site initiatives that have demonstrated positive academic results at our campuses. We are committed to continuing to place emphasis on programs currently funded through categorical revenues, yet our evaluation of school needs’ may encourage the district to focus funds on some areas more than others.

This proposal of extended flexibility is an opportunity for school districts to assess what strategies are working at our highest performing schools, consider replicating promising pilot initiatives and shifting the allocation of state resources for particular interventions we see working well in our schools. Our district staff, in consultation with the School Board and our stakeholder advisory committees composed of parents and community leaders will be better positioned to allocate the resources and prioritize initiatives.

A case in point, San Diego Unified may choose to fund additional Advance Placement and Career Technical Education courses as we continue to prepare our high school students to be career- or-college-ready. Some of our schools may benefit from additional instructional support for the language immersion and biiteracy programs.

We may decide to reduce class size at our high need sites and hire counselors or librarians since these positions are the ones we’ve had to eliminate or reduce during the painful years of budget cutting. As we prepare to implement the Common Core Standards, we may consider providing additional support for our teachers in the form of professional development, which has been dramatically reduced since the onset of the recession in 2008.

In the recent California Department of Education’s release on the 2012 graduation and drop-out rates, San Diego Unified proudly exceeded all of the state averages by increasing graduations and decreasing drop-outs. In fact, we attained the lowest drop-out rate among California’s large urban districts and the second highest graduation rate among our peer districts. This is validation that we are pursuing strategies that work and that are helping our students graduate from high school with the necessary skills and knowledge to enroll in college or compete in the workforce.

We also support the Governor’s plan to maintain the Targeted Instructional Improvement Block Grant (TIIBG) as an add-on to the formula. It has been a critical, stand-alone integration fund that has benefitted many of our students for decades as San Diego Unified was one of the districts subject to court desegregation orders. The court has acknowledged the district has remained committed to achieving the integration goals, and to that end, San Diego Unified has continued to use TIIBG resources for transportation activities attributed to desegregation.

We have also applied these funds to other integration strategies, including increasing enrollment options for our students who live in racially isolated areas, decreasing class sizes for high needs schools, transporting our students to magnet schools across the district, and increasing parent involvement.
I am confident that the proposed finance system will allow local educators and communities to adapt, innovate and respond to changing student needs. Under LCFF, district and school staff will spend far less time navigating the cumbersome bureaucracy created over decades by layers of restrictions and requirements and instead focus on improving educational outcomes in response to being held accountable for raising student achievement across the board.

More Clarity on Role of COE and What New Accountability System Means

Before I conclude, I would like to make a few remarks in the area of accountability. We look forward to receiving additional direction on what the proposed accountability system will look like, and we encourage the Governor’s office, the Legislature and Department of Education to engage school districts in developing an accountability plan that is not cumbersome, but one that is simple, straight forward and implementable.

The accountability proposal currently envisions that each County Office of Education to review the local accountability plans for all school districts within its county concurrently with its review of district budgets. We are concerned about the implications of this approach because of the broad diversity of County Office capabilities around the state. Each County Offices of Education in the state conducts a variety of activities depending on the size of the county and the characteristics of the districts they serve. Before implementing this accountability review approach, school districts and County Offices of Education will need to be informed on the responsibilities County Offices of Education will have under this new system and what the consequences will be, if any, if districts fail to comply with their plan.

While it is important that County Offices of Education to review the District Plans on an annual basis, this examination should be limited to a fiscal analysis, not one based on evaluating whether schools have met academic progress. This separation of fiscal review versus academic performance review is very important as many school districts across the state believe student achievement and academic progress should not be part of the County Offices of Education.

While the accountability structure is further defined, the state should consider convening a stakeholder advisory group to assist with the development and adoption of the Local Control and Accountability Plan so the county's superintendent role in reviewing district's plan is clear.

One final point on accountability. I am aware that concerns have been raised that the proposed local decision making and flexibility granted to school districts does not factor in an accountability system that will ensure the supplemental funds are being spent on the neediest students: English learners, low-income and foster care youth. I disagree with and challenge these concerns, as I believe the proposed formula will empower parents and community members to hold school districts accountable for ensuring the funds are being used for the most disadvantaged students.

Conclusion: Education Finance Reform is Needed Now

In conclusion, how best to improve upon the existing K-12 funding system has been discussed by stakeholder groups for many years, San Diego Unified believes that the need for action grows increasingly urgent.

Not only does a strong rationale exist for restructuring the current flawed system, but the passage of Prop 30 and projected annual growth in Prop 98 minimum guarantee serves as a unique opportunity to transition to a more rational funding system that is equitable and one which allocates a share of new funds in a way that more closely aligns with current student needs.

School districts have suffered more than $20 billion in reductions and deferred payments from the state since 2007-2008, and our school district has had its own share of these cuts. Thanks in large part to Governor Brown; the passage of Proposition 30 will serve to stop additional cuts to schools. California¹s public schools must be funded at a level that allows them to meet the state¹s expectations, and to serve all students while providing them with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in today¹s society.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide you San Diego Unified’s perspective. I welcome any questions from members of the committee.

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County Superintendent discusses Prop. 30 changes

Voters passed measure in November; Dr. Randy Ward gives his views on funding changes. Watch video from the San Diego County Office of Education and Cox Communications/Cox 4.

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From Supt. Kowba: The path to a balanced budget

On Tuesday, Jan 22, the Board of Education held a budget workshop where I presented the reality of the district’s projected $84 million deficit for 2013/14. We outlined two alternative scenarios for balancing next year’s budget. One alternative is to initiate a large layoff process similar to the one we followed last year. The second alternative is to reduce staffing levels through attrition combined with a significant increase in property sales to generate one-time revenue.

Both alternatives are difficult. The massive layoff strategy creates great turmoil, destabilizes staffing and increases class sizes. The attrition approach will result in an uneven and challenging staffing pattern. But it is the best approach to safeguard stability and student supports. Consequently, the Board directed staff to prepare a balanced 2013/14 budget using a combination of attrition savings and property sales.

Outlook for 2013/14 – The Path to a Balanced Budget

Over time, the recently approved Proposition 30 taxes will generate more revenue for the state for education funding. This new revenue does not immediately return the district to the funding levels of 2008, but it is a first step toward that goal. We are in a transition period to a better funding environment but our current budget shortfall must be addressed now.

Over the past several years, the district has spent down reserves, made permanent operational cuts, and used one-time funding solutions to balance budgets during the state’s financial crisis. These budget balancing strategies of previous years still leave a 2013/14 budget deficit of $84 million.

Since last week’s board direction, I have initiated a two-pronged budget strategy of personnel reductions through attrition and planning for additional real estate sales. The following is a summary of these two key deficit reduction strategies. 

Attrition-Based Staff Reductions

Each year, 500-600 staff members leave the district stemming from retirements, leaves or separations. Typically, these are budgeted positions that are refilled with temporary contracts for approved leaves, probationary contracts or new hires for separations. Teaching positions that become vacant during the year are filled in the same manner. Certificated management at school sites are also replaced with interim appointments until permanent appointments are made. Classified positions are similarly filled based on function and situational need.

The attrition-based deficit reduction program will require a significant change to this standard operational approach. Beginning immediately and throughout the 2013/14 school year, every vacancy created in any manner at all school sites and support departments will be reviewed by a position review committee and the appropriate senior management leader.

More detailed procedures for implementation will be developed to support the following general guidelines:

1. A reduction of a minimum of 300 staff positions not replaced from attrition is targeted for a savings of approximately $30 million. This target will be adjusted in response to the evolving state budget development.
2. All teaching and other certificated positions and classified positions WILL NOT be automatically filled to replace leaves, retirements and separations.
3. All hires will require senior management approval. Positions will not be automatically filled unless absolutely needed. 
4. Schools may be required to adjust class sizes upward and add combo grade classes to accommodate for staff reductions from anticipated attrition.
5. Unassigned qualified teaching staff at other locations may be moved to fill positions.
6. Temporary contracts and subs will only be used if absolutely needed for critical positions.
7. School sites and departments will have to support flexible staffing and staffing variations. 
8. Business operations will be asked to adjust by not filling positions vacated through attritions unless the position is deemed critical.
9. Principals will communicate to school site staff and their parent community that as an alternative to destabilizing layoffs that there will be a potential for mid-year class size and configuration adjustments as a result of attrition at any point.

Real Estate Sales

The second critical element of our 2013/14 deficit reduction strategy is to increase the revenue from real estate sales. The Board of Education has committed to proceeding with real estate sales as an alternative to a massive layoff. To accomplish that goal, the district will need to sell $50 million of surplus property in 2013/14. In addition to these sales, I will also pursue the implementation of a program to optimize short and long-term lease revenues from district real estate assets.

Summary

I believe that 2013/14 is a critical bridging year for San Diego Unified. We will need to solve our budget deficit as we await the fufillment of significant new revenues from Prop. 30 in subsequent years. This challenge will require more collaboration and support than ever. We face a stark choice for a balanced budget, massive layoffs or the path selected by the board, attrition reductions and real estate sales. Staff reductions from attrition will not be easy but it will give us more stability. In the weeks ahead, we will develop more details to guide this strategy and will consult with employee groups to ensure implmentation of this approach in the best way possible. As we move forward, I value and appreciate the understanding and cooperation from all employees.

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School Board President talks about vote to avoid employee layoffs

IN THE NEWS: Board President Dr. John Lee Evans discusses budget. See more from KPBS»

 

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From Supt. Kowba: Governor’s January budget proposal

Governor Jerry Brown released his budget proposal for the 2013-14 fiscal year yesterday, Jan. 10. At first look, the Governor's proposal seems like a good starting point for restoring funding to public education, although it will take us time to analyze its impacts for our District.  San Diego Unified is committed to providing stability for our students and schools in the 2013-14 year.  As we study the details of the Governor’s proposal, we are hopeful that we can maintain stable school staffing in the next budget year. After five years of cuts to education, it is a relief to see that trend reversed but as the Governor stated, it will take time to return education funding to the adequate levels that we saw in 2008.

This is a step forward but at first look we believe there will be enhancements that we and others in the education community will be urging the Legislature to make as they begin to refine this preliminary proposal from the governor.  As we go through our own budget process in the coming weeks, we will make clear to both the Governor's office and to the Legislature where the proposal needs to be improved in order to achieve the goal of stability for our schools in the coming year. These efforts began last week when Board members Richard Barrera and Kevin Beiser, SDEA President Bill Freeman, teachers, administrators, community members and I visited State Senator Marty Block regarding adequate funding for education.

For more information about Gov. Brown's budget proposal, go to  http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/ .



Bill Kowba
Superintendent

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In interview, School Board President optimistic about future

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