Report Shines Ray Of Hope On Cash-Poor California Schools
A new report from the public Policy Institute of California offers hope for improving the state's school finance system, in part due to demographics.
"We are expecting a relatively slow increase in the number of students, and at the same time, a faster increase in the number of tax payers," said study author Margaret Weston.
KCBS' Margie Shafer Reports: [audio_linkurl="http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/nyc.podcast.play.it/media/d0/d0/d0/dW/d2/dU/d8/W2U8_4.MP3" name="New Report Shines Ray Of Hope On Broke California Schools" artist="Margie Shafer"]
She says that if money is invested in equalizing per pupil rates, rather than spent on resources, California would rank in the top third of all states, instead of toward the bottom.
Weston notes that Governor-elect Brown and the incoming superintendent of public instruction had platforms of school finance reforms. Additionally, the state is being sued over its funding system, which she says could have a silver lining.
"Coupled with the lawsuit, we think now is the time we can start grappling with our school finance system and these questions," said Weston.
K-12 education is the largest area of spending in the state budget.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
