Why we need the money

Many people believe that with La Canada’s high property values and the amount of taxes paid by our residents that our schools should be flush with money. In fact, the opposite is true. Not only do our taxes not fund our schools directly, our District receives less per student from the state than almost all other Districts! To understand why this is the case, you need to have some understanding of the process by which schools are funded in California.

Prior to 1972 and Prop 13, school districts were largely dependent upon property taxes, which furnished about 2/3 of public education revenues. Local Districts could simply raise property taxes when more funds were required. Around the same time as Prop 13 came the Serrano vs Priest lawsuit, which challenged the fairness of the funding inequities that resulted from widely disparate property values and tax bases. The combined effect of Prop 13 and Serrano was to shift public school support from local property taxes to state general funds, thereby shifting the control from local authority to the state. You can learn more about California school funding at www.californiaschoolfinance.org.

With the State controlling funding, Districts receive a base amount for each student enrolled. Additional funds are typically granted to Districts in the form of Categorical Spending, or funds designated for specific programs tied to District demographic factors, socioeconomic or otherwise. LCUSD does not qualify for these programs, and therefore receives a lower amount than most Districts. To make things worse, although the District’s operating costs rise each year (even before addressing staff salaries), the State may or may not implement a cost of living adjustment, depending on its own finances. So when costs such as utilities or health benefits increase, the District has to find the money to fund the increases. This is in addition to any negotiated salary increases for teachers or other staff. Since most of the District budget is salary, the only way to fund the increases is to eliminate positions.

LCF residents have high expectations of their schools, as they should. But while free public education is possible, it doesn’t meet the standard that we would all like to see. We want a GREAT public education for our kids, and that, unfortunately, is not free…