Plan to cut school building funds worries districts
Sacramento Bee 1/31/07
The budget proposal calls for reducing the amount the state pays for school construction from 50 percent of the cost to 40 percent. That means school districts would have to pay 60 percent of the cost, rather than the 50 percent they now pay for building schools.
Schwarzenegger administration officials say school districts would be able to handle the increase because projections show they will receive nearly $16 billion more in Proposition 98 funds over the next five years. And, they point out, schools also will receive more money from a predicted boost in property tax revenues.
But school officials say the shift would hurt.
"It would result in more overcrowding and longer waits for new schools to open," said Larry Stark, assistant superintendent of the Rocklin Unified School District, which has built 10 schools in the last 10 years.
The district plans to build another three schools in the next five to eight years, Stark said. And with Rocklin voters already having passed three bond measures, Stark said they shouldn't have to pay more.
"Our local community has more than paid their fair share for the last 14 or 15 years," he said.
School districts in the region have devised various ways to pay for building schools to accommodate the influx of children that come with new home development. The formulas generally involve a combination of state funds, local taxes and developer fees.
If state funding is reduced and contributions from local voters or developers don't make up the difference, districts would have to skimp on construction, said Matt Washburn, facilities director of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District.
Folsom Cordova expects to build 25 to 30 schools over the next 25 years.
"You could go with lesser quality materials or smaller classrooms. ... You could go with less landscaping or smaller school sites," he said.
The proposed cut in state funds for construction would have a big impact on the Elk Grove Unified School District, which has built at least 18 schools since 2000 and expects to open six more in the next six years.
Associate Superintendent Constantine Baranoff said the district would have to scale back construction. That could include building classrooms without sinks, video projectors and computers.
"Instead of carpeting, you would put in vinyl tile," he said. "It's not as conducive to a classroom environment, especially in elementary schools where children stay close to the floor."
State superintendent Jack O'Connell issued a statement expressing his opposition to Schwarzenegger's proposal. He said it would create more inequalities in California schools.
"The greater the burden on local taxpayers, the greater the potential will be for high-wealth areas to build superior schools and low-wealth areas to be left with outdated, inadequate classrooms," the statement said.
H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the governor's Department of Finance, said the proposal makes sense.
"Given the growth in both the state general fund and property taxes that will be going to schools, we think this is an appropriate adjustment," he said.
Palmer said Schwarzenegger wants to encourage governments at all levels to be more creative in how they spend public money, creating partnerships with the private sector to increase funds.
"That doesn't mean we're going to privatize education," he said. "That means we're going to try to maximize to the greatest extent possible the effectiveness of state dollars."