While a California assemblyman agrees that a plan to give more fiscal control to public schools is a good idea, he says handing schools more funds for poor students or those just learning English won't generate results.
Governor Jerry Brown (D) wants to give the state's K-12 school districts more control in how they spend money. Since voters approved a tax increase to generate funds for education, he is working to place the proposal for the January budget. Brown's office says the changes in the funding system would give more responsibility to the local level. He also plans to send more funds to poor students and those just learning English.
But California Assemblyman Curt Hagman (R) tells OneNewsNow why the governor's plan will not generate results.
"What we should do is have a block amount of money for each student going out to these schools and let the local administrators figure out what's best for their students -- but not to have these different funding ways to put money in," Hagman suggests. "These schools haven't had their investments for years and years, and you have some districts making double or triple what other districts do per student, and you don't get the results."
Brown's plan would also ax most "categoricals," which require schools to spend funds on specific programs.
"We've been always in favor of cutting the categoricals to give more freedom for locals," the assemblyman notes.
In light of budget cuts, the state has softened earmarks and allowed districts to get funding without spending the funds on specific programs.