Letter: California schools in need of full and fair funding
While California has the fifth-largest economy in the world, its per pupil spending is near the bottom of the 50 states.
While it’s true that the Legislature and governor gave more to schools than the Proposition 98 minimum; the sad fact is that schools are only back to the 2007 pre-recession levels with increased employer pension contributions tripling between 2013 and 2023 and transportation and special education costs continuing to rise.
Despite a booming economy, many districts are deficit spending and making cuts in order to balance their budgets. This is not sustainable. The good news is that recent polling shows that large majorities of California voters would support an effort to bring per pupil funding to the national average. Please ask lawmakers to listen to Californians and prioritize children; they deserve just as much as students in other states.
Nina Senn
Oakland
Former board member
Oakland Unified School District
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