blog post A Long-term View of Higher Education Funding By Kevin Cook Aug 16, 2018 Public higher education is a major component of California's General Fund allocations, along with K–12 education, health and human services, and corrections. How has this spending changed over time?
blog post Gas Prices Stretch Family Budgets By Sarah Bohn, Daniel Payares-Montoya Mar 16, 2022 California has recently seen its highest average gas price on record. Combined with higher prices in other key budget areas, rising gas prices pose a challenge for households around the state, especially those with lower incomes.
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.
blog post How Much Do California Cities Spend on Policing? By Brandon Martin, Alexandria Gumbs Oct 2, 2020 On a per resident basis, cities’ spending on policing ranges from less than $100 to several thousand dollars, with the vast majority spending between $150 and $450.
blog post Expanding Enrollment at UC and CSU By Kevin Cook, Hans Johnson May 23, 2019 Governor Newsom’s proposed state budget supports increased enrollment in California’s public universities, but a long-term funding plan could help ensure that UC and CSU meet student demand and the state’s needs.
Report Are California’s Fiscal Constraints Institutional or Political? By Bruce E. Cain, George A. Mackenzie Dec 30, 2008 California’s 2008 budget went into effect a record 85 days after its statutory deadline. This brought renewed criticism of the requirement that the budget pass with a legislative supermajority rather than a simple majority. The authors explore this and other constraints on the state’s budget process and find that California has placed more such restrictions on itself than any other state. Dating back to Proposition 13, these restrictions have generally not restrained revenues and expenditures as their authors may have hoped. Instead, state and local officials—and voters—have found ways to raise revenues and spend money by circumventing constraints.
blog post UC’s Experiment in Measuring Costs By Patrick Murphy, Kevin Cook Jul 19, 2017 A little-noticed provision in the state budget could help University of California campuses improve their budgetary decision-making.
blog post Predicting the COVID-19 Medi-Cal Enrollment Surge By Shannon McConville Jun 5, 2020 Pre-pandemic health coverage patterns in the industries hit hardest by the current downturn can help gauge how Medi-Cal enrollment might increase due to COVID-19.
Report Funding California Schools When Budgets Fall Short By Julien Lafortune, Radhika Mehlotra, Jennifer Paluch Oct 5, 2020 Even as districts prioritize safety amid COVID-19, they face hard choices as they try to maintain services and balance budgets. By examining district reserves and spending, this report aims to understand how the Great Recession affected K–12 funding and how prepared districts are now to manage future cuts.
blog post Federal Funds and California’s Budget By Patrick Murphy Apr 9, 2018 The most vulnerable Californians could bear the brunt if changes are made to direct funding received from the federal government.
