Edgar Cabral, principal fiscal and policy analyst in the Legislative Analyst’s Office, co-authored An Overview of the Local Control Funding Formula, which describes the details of California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and accompanying system of district support and intervention.
California School Finance Reform
In an op-ed appearing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Mike Kirst argued that California’s adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is only the first of many challenging yet critical steps to ensuring that students leave high school prepared for college and career.
As a panelist at the 2013 EdSource Symposium on Saturday, May 4th, Richard Carranza expressed his support for Governor Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). He argued that this proposed re-design of California’s school finance system would give districts much needed flexibility over use of use of funds as well as recognize the higher level of resources required to educate students who are living in poverty and/or whose primary language is not English. Carranza also argued that the LCFF proposal
In a recent interview with New America Media, Mike Kirst discussed the legal and political history of California’s current education finance system and how Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) can more equitably allocate state funding to districts and allow them the flexibility they need to meet rising expectations of college-readines
Collaborative Members Support Local Control Funding Formula
Eight superintendents on the California Collaborative on District Reform and the chair of the group wrote a letter urging Joan Buchanan to pass the the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in the budget this year.
Christopher Steinhauser authored an op-ed, appearing in the Long Beach Press-Telegram and the Los Angeles Daily News, in which he expressed his support for Governor Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). He argues that this proposed re-design of California’s school finance system would give districts much needed flexibility over use o
Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Tony Smith co-authored an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle arguing for state school finance reform to reduce current funding disparities among districts, increase local control over use of funds, and simplify the overly complex and burdensome state-mandated reporting obligations.
Previous Collaborative Activities
Collaborative Endorses Recommendations for a Restorative Restart
April 2021
Policy Briefs on California Education Finance and Governance
In October 2007, EdSource hosted a policy convening in response to findings from the Getting Down to Facts research project. These four briefs were prepared by a working group of district Collaborative members to inform the dialogue of this “Getting from Facts to Policy” conference. They advocate for new state policy in the areas of (1) governance and finance, (2) standards based funding and accountability systems, (3) accessible and informative data, and (4) teacher preparation and development.
California Collaborative Urges State to Move Forward with a Thoughtful Weighted Pupil Formula Policy
The California Collaborative on District Reform, led by 10 district leaders from across the state, issued a letter to the Governor urging the state to move forward with a weighted pupil formula (WPF) to improve our state’s ability to educate children to their fullest potential.