To ensure that every California student receives a high-quality education, a statewide coalition led by the Association of California School Administrators and the California School Boards Association will place a transformative school funding measure on the November 2020 ballot. The measure will generate $15 billion annually to support learning in the state’s K-12 public schools and community colleges and raise California from 38th nationally in school funding to the national average. “California should be using its resources to lead the nation in innovative, effective learning strategies and to recruit, retain, and support highly skilled professionals who improve outcomes for all students,” said Executive Director of the Association of California School Administrators Dr. Wesley Smith. “Full and Fair Funding will increase our ability to provide the kind of conditions, programs, staffing, and training that help ensure student success and close opportunity and achievement gaps. It’s time to fight for the future California students deserve.” The coalition, which also includes the Community College League of California, has retained San Francisco-based campaign firm TBWB Strategies to advise the Full and Fair Funding campaign as well as two longtime stalwarts of California politics, former California Teachers Association Executive Director Joe Nunez and former CTA Associate Executive Director Scott Day. On Oct. 14, the group submitted language to the Attorney General’s Office for the Full and Fair Funding: Public School Progress, Prosperity, and Accountability Act of 2020. Full and Fair Funding will begin to reverse four decades of underinvestment in California schools by:

• Raising $15 billion annually for K-12 schools and community colleges.
• Allocating 89 percent of the $15 billion generated to K-12 schools and 11 percent to California Community Colleges.
• Guaranteeing that the revenue goes to school and can’t be diverted by the Legislature.
• Implementing strict fiscal accountability and public transparency provisions.

The revenue to fund the measure will be generated by:

“Whether you’re a veteran like me, who benefited from a quality community college education, or an English Language Learner who wants to master computer science, we are saying ‘yes you can’ in California,” explained CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy. “Education is the heart of our democracy and when we underfund schools, we shortchange our students and our society. Full and Fair Funding is the means to a critically important end — preparing the next generation for success in college, career, and civic life.” Full and Fair Funding will provide more resources that schools can use to meet local community interest in stronger STEM programs; robust career and technical education and job training; expanded arts and extracurriculars; class size reduction; increased support for English learners; additional counselors, aides, and instructional support staff; health and wellness programs; and improved interventions for struggling students. Given its wealth and the high needs of its student population, California’s investment in schools should be among the nation’s highest. Instead, the top 10 states spend $7,000 more per student than California does. Even the average state invests almost $5,000 more per student than California. If California supported schools at simply the national average, funding would increase by nearly $2,500 per average daily attendance, adjusted for cost-of-living — that’s an additional $62,000 for a classroom of 25 students and more than $1.2 million for a school with 500 students. “California’s community colleges are the bridge to opportunity, especially for low- and middle-income Californians struggling with the rising cost of higher education,” said Community College League of California President and CEO Larry Galizio. “Veterans, students experiencing housing insecurity and even homelessness, adults changing careers and acquiring new skills and abilities, and many who are the first in their families to attend college will benefit from this initiative and critical investment in California’s future.”