Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council Regular Meeting of April 24, 2018
Title
SUPPORT FOR ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 2808
TO INCREASE LOCAL CONTROL FUNDING
FOR CALIFORNIA’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS
(Management Analyst Katrina Nguyen)
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt Resolution No._______ “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF HERMOSA BEACH, CALIFORNIA, IN SUPPORT OF ASSEMBLY BILL 2808 (MURATSUCHI) TO INCREASE LOCAL CONTROL FUNDING FOR CALIFORNIA’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS”; and
2. Approve and authorize the Mayor to sign a letter of support on behalf of the City regarding Assembly Bill 2808, to be shared with appropriate legislators and local stakeholders.
Body
Background:
Recognizing that the state of California has fallen below the national average in per-pupil spending for many years, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi has introduced Assembly Bill 2808 - an education funding bill aimed at providing aid for school districts throughout California by way of an increase in the state’s Local Control Funding Formula. This Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is the complex set of rules that help determine how state funds are parceled out to local school districts.
Existing law requires funding pursuant to the LCFF to include, in addition to a base grant, supplemental and concentration grant add-ons that are based on the percentage of pupils served by a district who are English learners, foster youth, or eligible for free or reduced-price meals (also defined as ‘unduplicated’ pupils). Existing law specifies the amount of the base grant, and requires supplemental and concentration grant add-ons to be calculated as certain percentages of the base grant amount.
The proposed bill would delete the provision specifying the amount of the base grant established in the 2013-2014 fiscal year and would specify new, higher amounts for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which would increase the supplemental and concentration grant amounts and result in various other changes to funding calculations for purposes of the LCFF.
The establishment of new LCFF targets is critical to ensuring that school dristricts across the state receive adequate funding in light of steep increases in annual fixed costs. Additionally, revised base grant amounts are important for districts such as Hermosa Beach and its neighbors, as they are among the lowest funded in California due to their ineligibility for supplemental or concentration grant add-ons.
Analysis:
Assembly Bill 2808 uses the existing Local Control Funding Formula and proposes a 60% increase to the 2019-2020 level of LCFF, which would amount to a statewide increase of approximately $35 billion above current funding levels. The funding increase is intended to ensure that districts are able to cover increased fixed costs by dedicating 84% of the funds, equal to nearly $30 billion, to the base grant, which provides the greatest spending flexibility for districts. AB 2808 is also intended to bring California up to the national average in per-pupil spending. Once the target funding levels established in the bill have been reached, average per pupil spending in California will be increased to nearly $13,000. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
AB 2808 is co-sponsored by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), California Federation of Teachers (CFT), California School Boards Association (CSBA), the California School Funding Coalition and California State PTA. The Hermosa Beach City School Board has already passed a resolution in support of AB 2808. A proposed letter of support from the City of Hermosa Beach is attached to this report.
Fiscal Implications:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
Attachments:
1. California Assembly Bill 2808
2. AB 2808 Fact Sheet
3. Resolution No.___ “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF HERMOSA BEACH, CALIFORNIA, IN SUPPORT OF ASSEMBLY BILL 2808 (MURATSUCHI) TO INCREASE LOCAL CONTROL FUNDING FOR CALIFORNIA’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS”.
4. Draft Letter of Support - AB 2808
Respectfully Submitted by: Katrina Nguyen, Management Analyst
Concur: Nico De Anda-Scaia, Assistant to the City Manager
Approved: John Jalili, Interim City Manager