ACTION ALERT: Help Stop a Bad Budget!

Over the last several days, three budget proposals have emerged that would be very detrimental to education.  Please contact your legislators TODAY and urge them to reject any spending plan that doesn’t adequately protect education. 

 

All three of the current budget proposals would:

 

  • Reduce funding for education by over $1 billion.  There would be no COLA. 
  • Arbitrarily restrict spending on public education at a time when additional investments are needed. 
  • Provide unilateral mid-year cut authority for the Governor, setting a dangerous precedent that would allow significant cuts to education funding in the middle of the school year.
  • Use short-sighted and irresponsible gimmicks, manipulations and borrowing to close the deficit — ignoring the long-term consequences.    

Please invest a minute or two to let your elected officials know it is more important to pass a responsible budget than one that is more immediate. 

 

Staff Contact:  Debra Brown, Sr. Legislative Advocate, dbrown@csba.org

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Reject Budget Proposals that Hurt Schools

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am a school board member who is very concerned about the possibility that you will vote for a budget that fails to protect current education funding and threatens the ability to make future investments in schools.

Approving a budget that provides less funding for education than the Conference Committee report would mean even greater cuts to programs and services in the current school year. School districts need at least the level of funding provided in the Conference Committee report, which includes a partial cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The Conference Committee funding is below the level needed to maintain existing programs and services provided to students last year, but acknowledges that a balanced approach to the budget is the only way to close the deficit.

In the long term, imposing a spending limit or a rainy day reserve will hurt Californians by restricting any increases in funding for public education and other government services, even if they overwhelmingly desired to do so. When the time is right and more funds are available, our students deserve an increased investment in their futures.

Further, the Governor must not be provided with the authority to make unilateral mid-year cuts. This sets a dangerous precedent that violates the balance of power between the Legislature and the Governor. A process for mid-year reductions during fiscal emergencies was already approved by the voters and was utilized in February to make $7 billion in spending cuts and should not be usurped.

Finally, the budget must not rely on short-term revenues, gimmicks, manipulations or borrowing and instead must provide a solution that acknowledges that this is a long-term problem. Relying on such means this year will only push the imbalance between revenues and the services that Californians want into the future. Next year we will be back in the same place, and school districts will once again be forced to make cuts that take us further away from the high quality educational system we want for our students. The time is right to fix the problem now.

The most recent proposals from the Governor, the Senate and Legislative Republicans don't live up to these principles; therefore, I strongly urge you to reject them should they come before you.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
September 03, 2008


Background Information

Whenever it is approved, the 2008-09 budget will be the latest budget on record.  A dubious distinction indeed, however that doesn’t make it acceptable to adopt an irresponsible budget balanced on borrowing and manipulations that will have long-term negative consequences.  Rather, it is more important to adopt a budget built upon permanent and ongoing revenues, in addition to the significant and difficult cuts that have already been made.

 

A responsible budget must account for the following:

 

·        Provide at least the level of funding contained in the Conference Committee report.  The $59.1 billion for Proposition 98 restores a billion dollars in cuts proposed by the Governor in the May Revision and provides a partial cost-of-living adjustment of 2.1 percent.  This actually represents less funding than school districts need to maintain the programs and services they provided last year, resulting in a reduction in support for students ranging from transportation to sports programs.  School districts are already operating on very lean budgets and any further reductions in education funding will be felt in classrooms across the state. 

 

·        Reject a spending cap that will harm California’s long-term interests by arbitrarily restricting spending on public education at a time when additional investments are needed.  By any measure, the amount that California spends per student is below the national average and well below the amount needed to meet our indisputably high academic performance standards.  A spending cap would prohibit future Californians from increasing investments in public education and other government services, even if they overwhelmingly desired to do so. 

 

·        Reject providing the Governor with unilateral authority to make mid-year cuts.  The current process established by Proposition 58 provides a mechanism for mid-year reductions when a fiscal emergency is declared.  This process was successfully demonstrated in February when the Legislature and Governor approved $7 billion in spending reductions for 2007-08.  These cuts were difficult, but were done in full sunshine with the opportunity for input by stakeholders.  Allowing such cuts to occur unilaterally, without a check by the legislature, sets a dangerous precedent that violates the balance of power between the legislature and the governor. 

 

·        Not rely on short-term gimmicks and instead must provide a solution that acknowledges that this is a long-term problem.  Using borrowing or other maneuvering to close the deficit for this year will only push the imbalance between revenues and the services that Californians want into the future.  Next year we will be back in the same place where school districts will once again be forced to make cuts that take us further away from the high quality educational system we want for our students. 

 

Any budget proposal that doesn’t meet all of these fundamental principles must be rejected.