SFUSD Financial Update

San Francisco Unified School District recently published its 2017 Financial Report and Second Interim Reports for 2017–18 here and here. The results are startling: Retirement costs are consuming $2,000 per student this year. Retirement liabilities grew 15 percent in one year, to nearly $1 billion. It doesn’t take deep financial analysis to figure out that … Continue reading SFUSD Financial Update →

How To End Educational Oppression in CA

California school boards are prevented by the state legislature and governor from offering disproportionate pay to employees willing to work in high-poverty zones, cutting pension spending, altering permanent employment (tenure) rules or granting principals the power to fire poorly performing employees. The outcome: poor student performance, inadequate teacher salaries, and shaky finances despite a huge … Continue reading How To End Educational Oppression in CA →

Being Fair To CA’s Teachers

Everyone must chip in to solve pension and OPEB crises. It’s not news that exploding spending on pensions and retiree health care is crushing public services in California. It’s a problem that didn’t have to happen, as explained here. But it did — and the result is $1 trillion being diverted from schools and other public services in … Continue reading Being Fair To CA’s Teachers →

Billions Being Diverted From CA Teachers

School funding in California is at record levels: Governor’s Budget Governor’s Budget But school districts are cutting staff and holding down raises. That’s largely because they are subsidizing retirees at the expense of active employees. Eg, San Francisco Unified School District will spend >$40 million this year to subsidize health care spending by retirees and … Continue reading Billions Being Diverted From CA Teachers →

California’s Great Diversion

General Fund tax revenues in Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed budget for 2018–19 are expected to be 32 percent higher than ten years ago yet the same budget proposes only 9 percent more spending for California State University than ten years ago. The principal reason is the “Great Diversion” of tax revenue to greater spending on … Continue reading California’s Great Diversion →

California’s Next Tax Increase

Inevitable unless the Big Diversion is ended. Jerry Brown’s budget for 2018–19 predicts revenues will be 32 percent greater than ten years ago yet that same budget proposes 14 percent less for the Judicial Branch and only 8 percent more for the University of California. The principal reason is the “Big Diversion.” Revenue gains are being … Continue reading California’s Next Tax Increase →

50 Years After East LA Walkouts

Agonizingly slow progress in fast changing times. In 1968 Latino students walked out of public high schools in East Los Angeles in protest of unequal educational conditions. 50 years later what has changed? CA’s Latino graduation rate has improved but unequal conditions and poor educational outcomes persist and graduating students are often unprepared for college. That’s … Continue reading 50 Years After East LA Walkouts →

Coverup At SFUSD

In June San Francisco’s school board wants voters to approve a new “parcel tax” of $298 per parcel of real property. They claim the money — $50 million per year — is needed to provide teachers with living wages. That’s a worthy objective but it’s not the real reason behind the proposed tax. The real reason is buried deep … Continue reading Coverup At SFUSD →

A Pro-Citizen 2018 Agenda For California

Five pro-citizen issues should be on the agenda when the California Legislature reconvenes tomorrow:Reducing OPEB (retiree health care) spending by school districts, cities, special districts and the state that’s crowding out services for students, teachers and other citizens;Improving customer service for, and the healthiness of, the ~14 million Californians enrolled in the state’s single-payer healthcare … Continue reading A Pro-Citizen 2018 Agenda For California →