Education Funding

Struggling Calif. Schools Get a Shot in the Arm

By Jessica L. Sandham — September 22, 1999 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The good news is, 430 California schools are feasting on $96 million in state funds designed to give them the extra resources they need to shape up. Of course, all that money comes with a catch: severe penalties if the schools don’t turn things around.

The state completes its kickoff of the program next week, as 353 of the schools face an Oct. 1 deadline to spend their $50,000 state planning grants. The state says they must use the money to hire evaluators who will identify the schools’ weaknesses and help figure out a way to fix them.

Once the plans are approved by district and state officials in March, the schools will receive up to $168 per student in extra aid to put the plans into action.

The other 77 schools have already completed the planning process and will receive federal grants of $200 per student or $50,000--whichever is greater--over the next three years.

In exchange for the extra money, however, each school must reach its performance goals within a year, or it will face district intervention. After two years, the state could impose sanctions by reorganizing the school, reassigning staff members, or, in the most extreme instance, shutting the school down.

Scramble for Funds

“Some of the consequences sound a bit harsh,” said David Gerhard, the principal of R.H. Dana Elementary School in the Capistrano Unified School District, near Los Angeles. His 700-student school, like the others in the program, volunteered to participate. “But I’m very confident that these efforts will show improvements,” he said. “I think it’s a risk worth taking.”

The Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools program is part of a package of accountability measures advanced by Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and approved by the legislature last spring. The state devoted an additional $96 million to set up a reward program for California school that show significant improvement on a new state index that measures test results and other factors. (“Scoring Glitch Clouds Impact of Prop. 227,” July 14, 1999.)

The schools in the intervention program will also be eligible for up to $150 per student through that reward program if they meet their goals.

The 430 schools were among 3,100 statewide that scored below the 50th percentile on the 1998 and 1999 state achievement tests. Of those 3,100 schools, 1,400 applied to take part in the intervention efforts.

State officials whittled the list down through a selection process that sought to include proportionate representations of elementary, middle, and high schools from both rural and urban areas, as well as schools that scored at a range of different levels on the state tests.

State officials say it was a good sign that they had to turn so many schools away.

“We were absolutely delighted and surprised at the response,” said Bill Padia, the director of policy and evaluation for the state education department. “It’s a very optimistic scenario that so many schools were ready to make changes, despite the potential sanctions.”

Local administrators say that the fact that so many schools were willing to participate also shows the lengths they will go to in order to squeeze more money out of a system that too often comes up short.

“It’s an ongoing challenge to get adequate funding for schools,” the Capistrano district’s Mr. Gerhard said, noting that his elementary school is now adopting the Success for All reading program. “This funding will really help us implement this program.”

Related Tags:

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding Biden's Budget Proposes Smaller Bump to Education Spending
The president requested increases to Title I and IDEA, and funding to expand preschool access in his 2025 budget proposal.
7 min read
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering prices for American families during an event at the YMCA Allard Center on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, N.H.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering prices for American families during an event at the YMCA Allard Center on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, N.H. Biden's administration released its 2025 budget proposal, which includes a modest spending increase for the Education Department.
Evan Vucci/AP
Education Funding States Are Pulling Back on K-12 Spending. How Hard Will Schools Get Hit?
Some states are trimming education investments as financial forecasts suggest boom times may be over.
6 min read
Collage illustration of California state house and U.S. currency background.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
Education Funding Using AI to Guide School Funding: 4 Takeaways
One state is using AI to help guide school funding decisions. Will others follow?
5 min read
 Illustration of a robot hand drawing a graph line leading to budget and finalcial spending.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding A State Uses AI to Determine School Funding. Is This the Future or a Cautionary Tale?
Nevada reworked its funding formula hoping to target extra aid to students most in need. What happened could hold lessons for other states.
13 min read
Illustration of robotic hand putting coins into jar.
iStock / Getty Images Plus