Report For Better or For Worse? School Finance Reform in California By Jon Sonstelie, Eric J. Brunner, Kenneth Ardon Feb 1, 2000 Beginning in the 1970s, school finance in California was transformed from a local to a state system. Has this transformation been good for California? For Better or For Worse? School Finance Reform in California traces the origins of school finance reform and assesses its chief consequences. Concluding that this reform did not achieve most of its original goals, the authors attribute this failure to two factors: the reformers’ imperfect understanding of the inequities under local finance and the effects of Proposition 13.
Report Pathways for School Finance in California By Jon Sonstelie, Heather Rose, Margaret Weston Nov 9, 2010 This report demonstrates how California can steadily improve its school finance system as economic and demographic conditions permit. To illustrate the possibilities, this report models a variety of potential improvements. Relying on five straightforward principles for reform, the authors show how small investments over time can help the system become more equitable and transparent. This report was supported with funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Report School Finance and California’s Master Plan for Education By Julian Betts, Jon Sonstelie, Anne Danenberg, Peter Richardson ... Jun 1, 2001 Responding to a request from the Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education – Kindergarten through University, the Public Policy Institute of California commissioned a series of reports on adequacy-based school finance, alternative approaches to school governance, and local revenue options for school districts. These reports were delivered to the Joint Committee and its staff between August 2000 and April 2001. School Finance and California’s Master Plan for Education brings together those essays and makes them available to more general audiences. Taken together, they suggest that a new system of school finance and governance could help provide adequate resources to California’s schools. They also consider the link between those resources and improved student achievement.
Fact Sheet Financing California’s Public Schools By Julien Lafortune Nov 29, 2023 K–12 funding has been at record-high levels in recent years, and California’s per student spending is now slightly above the national average. Spending is higher for low-income students, English Learners, and foster youth. However, enrollment declines, rising costs, and the expiration of pandemic funding pose fiscal challenges for school districts.
press release Public Policy Institute of California Establishes Economic Recovery Task Force Dec 2, 2008
Report California School Finance Revenue Manual By Jon Sonstelie, Heather Rose, Margaret Weston Jun 8, 2009 The funding system for California’s public schools is overly complex—even many experts lack information about how revenue is distributed. This comprehensive manual provides some fundamental and much needed facts, describing each revenue source and providing basic statistics on how that source distributes funds. This information, especially when used in conjunction with the PPIC School Finance Model, should help to promote a more open and informed discussion of school finance policy in the state.
blog post Who’s Leaving California—and Who’s Moving In? By Hans Johnson, Eric McGhee Feb 7, 2024 The primary driver of California's population loss over the past few years has been residents moving to other states. We examine the latest demographic data for those moving out of and into our state and discuss factors that underlie these decisions.
