K thru 12 Education

California's school districts, charter schools and county offices of education provide instruction and a variety of programs and support services for pre-Kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) students. These programs are designed to prepare students with the skills necessary to pursue higher education, obtain fulfilling employment, achieve career goals, and develop productive citizens. Programs and services provided to more than six million students annually include standards-based instruction, special education, English learner support, career preparatory programs, child care and development, remedial instruction, and adult education.

Recognizing that K-12 education forms the foundation for California's prosperity and quality of life, the Governor established the Committee on Education Excellence (Committee) to review the system's successes and failures and make recommendations to fundamentally improve educational performance. The Committee focused on school finance (the distribution and adequacy of education funding); the functionality and effectiveness of school governance structures; teacher recruitment and training; and the preparation and retention of school administrators.

The Governor's Committee, along with a group established by the Legislature in conjunction with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction that reflects the entire educational continuum from pre-Kindergarten through higher education, called the P-16 committee, commissioned a variety of studies to shed light on the aforementioned topics. The studies, in and of themselves, were not intended to make recommendations on how to improve education but instead to provide factual information that could be used as a basis for making recommendations on how to improve our education system.

In order to ensure that the public, the Legislature, the Administration and, in particular, parents, teachers, administrators, and leaders of business and industry have an opportunity to engage in a meaningful dialogue about the best approach for education reform, it is imperative that the committee's recommendations, along with the information provided in the studies, be fully vetted. Notwithstanding the current fiscal crisis, it is premature to make fundamental changes in the budget year before consensus can be reached on the major solutions.


WORKLOAD BUDGET
  • A workload budget reflects what a given program will cost next year under existing law and policy.
  • Government Code Section 13308.05 defines workload budget as the budget year cost of currently authorized services, adjusted for changes in enrollment, caseload, or population, and other factors including inflation, one-time expenditures, federal and court-ordered mandates.
Total funding for K-12 education is projected to be $68.5 billion in 2008-09. Of this amount, $65.1 billion is state, federal and local property tax funding accounted for in the State Budget. This proposed budget was constructed first by computing the workload budget funding level. From the workload budget, adjustments are made to reflect specific policy reductions, including budget balancing reductions. As a result of these budget balancing reductions, the budget reflects an $865.1 million decrease from the revised 2007-08 total of $66 billion.

Change Table K12-01 illustrates the major changes proposed to K-12 education spending in the Governor's Budget.
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS for K thru 12 Education Back to Top

 K-12 School Spending and Attendance
 Proposition 98 Guarantee
 California State Teachers' Retirement System
 Proposed Workload Budget
 Proposed Budget Balancing Reductions
 Other Special Session Issues
 Program Enhancements and Other Budget Adjustments
PRINTABLE BUDGET DOCUMENTS Back to Top
Budget Summary - K thru 12 Education (pdf * - 329K) -
Provides this entire K thru 12 Education Chapter in pdf format.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Back to Top
Proposed Budget Detail - K thru 12 Education
Displays Proposed Budget Detail information for K thru 12 Education.