Recruitment & Retention

Revenue Shortfall Prompts Big School Cuts in California

By Joetta L. Sack — February 06, 2002 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The California legislature adopted $857 million in education budget cuts last week, meeting the governor’s goal for reining in state spending in the face of a significant budget shortfall.

The legislature voted Jan. 30 in a special session to adopt large portions of Gov. Gray Davis’ package of rescissions to the 2001-02 budget, which contained $45.4 billion for K-12 education. Lawmakers did, however, swap some recommendations for changes more to their liking.

The cuts were part of a $2.16 billion package of overall cuts based on the governor’s recommendations.

The plan adopted last week eliminates funding for the governor’s performance awards for teachers, a controversial program that gives teachers cash awards for increased academic achievement in their classes. (“Smaller-Than-Expected Bonuses Anger Some L.A. Teachers,” Nov. 7, 2001.) It also cut site-based awards for schools by $12.7 million, to $144.3 million, and slashed all $50 million set aside to expand professional-development programs for mathematics and reading teachers.

In addition, lawmakers repealed $98 million for Teaching as a Priority grants, which allow low-performing schools to offer bonuses to recruit and retain certified teachers.

The legislators agreed as well to delay funding for one year of a $197 million program that would provide planning grants and assistance to low-performing schools. The legislature did, however, provide $18 million to help those schools draft improvement plans and promised another $20 million in the next year’s budget. But legislators tweaked the governor’s reductions to restore funding for a popular $67.8 million block grant for schools to use as discretionary spending, and reduced to $87 million a one- time, $250 million installment to help schools pay for increased energy costs.

The Senate approved the plan unanimously, while the Assembly approved it by a 66-6 vote.

Gov. Davis, a Democrat, praised the legislature for its swift action. As of late last week, he was still reviewing details of the plan, but was expected to sign it.

“This is the first time in history that we have made expenditure reductions of this magnitude in the current budget year,” he said in a statement. “With this action, legislative leaders have taken an important first step towards restoring California to fiscal health.”

The move likely will incite protests, particularly over the reading and math professional-development cuts and the cuts to the low-performing-schools program.

Some education groups, however, applauded the legislature’s decisions. “We were able to make sure the reductions work,” said Kevin Gordon, the executive director of the California Association of School Business Officials. “Clearly [the governor’s office] worked very hard to work with the education community and the legislature.”

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the February 06, 2002 edition of Education Week as Revenue Shortfall Prompts Big School Cuts in California

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

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

Recruitment & Retention One State’s Educator-Recruitment Campaign Has a Secret Weapon: Its Own Teachers
Georgia wants to change the public's view of teaching.
7 min read
Georgia Southern University College of Education Associate Dean Dr. Yasar Bodur takes photos as Aaliyah Smith signs a Certificate of Commitment on stage during the first ever Teach in the Peach Statewide Educator Signing Day at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on May 6, 2025.
Future teachers gather at tables to hear speakers during the "Teach in the Peach" statewide educator signing day at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on May 6. It's one of several measures the state has rolled out to recognize its teachers—and attract new ones.
David Walter Banks for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention Will Fired Federal Workers Consider Teaching? Some Schools May Soon Find Out
Thousands of federal employees face unemployment. Some states and districts see an opportunity to recruit skilled workers to the classroom.
6 min read
Surreal illustation of intersecting arrows and stairs.
Eoneren / E+
Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says Teacher Shortages Are Improving—With Two Big Exceptions
New job posting data suggests staffing support needs to be targeted at particular areas.
4 min read
Image of innovative solutions around staffing.
Laura Baker/Education Week and Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock/Getty
Recruitment & Retention Districts Can't Pay Teachers Promised Incentives After Trump Admin. Cuts Funding
Grants meant for teacher and school leader development in high-need schools were abruptly cut by the Trump administration. Districts are looking for other options.
8 min read
Master teachers Krysta McGrew and Justin Stewart work with their peers during a 5K cluster meeting at Ford Elementary School in Laurens, S.C., on March 10, 2025.
Master teachers Krysta McGrew and Justin Stewart work with their peers at Ford Elementary School in Laurens, S.C., on March 10, 2025. The Laurens district is among those who lost federal grant funding meant to provide performance-based financial incentives to teachers.
Bryant Kirk White for Education Week