Staff
- Sara Cortez
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(916) 319-8348
Special Education, Preschool, Child Nutrition, and Facilities - Kenneth Kapphahn
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(916) 319-8339
Proposition 98, School District Budgets, School Transportation - Lisa Qing
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(916) 319-8306
California Community Colleges - Michael Alferes
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(916) 319-8338
Local Control Funding Formula, Charter Schools, Alternative Schools, High School Career Technical Education - Natalie Gonzalez
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(916) 319-8320
California State University, Student Financial Aid - Dylan Hawksworth-Lutzow
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(916) 319-8308
Child Care, Expanded Learning, Teachers, and Education Technology - Edgar Cabral
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(916) 319-8343
Deputy Legislative Analyst: K-12 Education - Jennifer Pacella
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(916) 319-8332
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Higher Education
Publications
Education
To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.
Proposition 98 Update
February 21, 2007 - Compared to the Governor’s budget, we estimate less General fund revenue in both the current and budget years. Given the particular formulas that drive Proposition 98, our revenue estimates result in a higher minimum guarantee in 2007-08. This counterintuitive result means the Legislature is likely to face more challenging trade-offs in its budget deliberations. In this section, we also (1) provide an update on outstanding Proposition 98 “settle-up” obligations, (2) describe the effect of a declining K-12 student population on the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee, and (3) discuss factors that might lead to the Proposition 98 Test 1 factor becoming operative in the near future.
New Approach to Faculty Compensation Needed
February 21, 2007 - The Governor’s proposed budget bill language directs the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) to recommend a new methodology that compares total faculty compensation at the University of California and the California State University, as well as options for assessing the appropriateness of these compensation levels. We agree that CPEC’s current approach to faculty compensation is flawed. However, we recommend the Legislature rethink the basis for comparing faculty compensation and direct CPEC take an alternative approach to collecting and reporting specified faculty compensation information.
CCC Enrollment Funding
February 21, 2007 - Enrollment at the California Community Colleges (CCC) has been declining over the past several years. At the same time, CCC’s budget has been increased annually to accommodate enrollment growth. For the current fiscal year, we estimate that CCC will likely be unable to use more than $100 million in enrollment funding. We recommend that the Legislature delete this funding for CCC’s budget in order to improve the state’s overall fiscal health. For 2007-08, we recommend the Legislature fund modest anticipated growth. At the same time, however, we recommend the Legislature shift its budget and policy emphasis from increasing enrollment to increasing success rates for students that are enrolled.
Higher Education Nursing Programs
February 21, 2007 - The Governor’s budget contains several augmentations for registered nursing programs at the University of California, California State University, and California Community College systems. We recognize the need to increase the number of registered nurses in the state, and find merit with some of the Governor’s proposals. Other proposals, however, lack adequate justification. We thus recommend approval of some proposals and reductions in others, as well as additional steps the Legislature could take to improve nursing programs.
Student Fees
February 21, 2007 - The Governor’s budget assumes that the University of California and the California State University will enact fee increases of 7 percent and 10 percent for resident students at their respective campuses. We recommend lower fee increases of 2.4 percent for both systems. The 2.4 percent fee increase would match the increase in overall costs experienced by the segments due to inflation, and would ensure that students continued to pay the same share of their educational cost as they are paying in the current year. We also recommend that the Legislature not “buy out” any portion of the Governor’s proposed fee increase because such an approach confuses the role of fees and undermines the Legislature’s role in budgeting. We do not recommend any change to the Governor’s proposed fee level for the community colleges, which would maintain the $20 per unit fee that went into effect in January 2007.
UC and CSU Enrollment Growth and Funding
February 21, 2007 - The Governor’s budget proposes about $120 million to fund 2.6percent enrollment growth at the University of California (UC) and 2.5percent enrollment growth at the California State University (CSU). This amount would provide $10,876 in General Fund support for each additional student at UC and $7,837 for each additional student at CSU. The proposed budget also provides $109 million for a 2 percent enrollment increase at the California Community Colleges (CCC). In this write-up, we analyze the Governor’s proposed enrollment growth and funding rates for UC and CSU in 2007-08 and recommend alternatives to those rates.
UC and CSU Outreach Programs
February 21, 2007 - Currently, the state provides over $83 million in funding to the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) to support over 20 different K-14 outreach programs that focus on preparing and encouraging students from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend college. For 2007-08, the Governor’s budget proposes a $26.3 million General Fund reduction to these programs. In this write-up, we (1) provide perspectives on UC and CSU’s outreach programs and efforts to evaluate their effectiveness and (2) present different approaches for the Legislature to consider in funding and evaluating these programs.
Infrastructure Bond Implementation: Higher Education
- Format:
February 7, 2007 - Presented to Senate Education Committee. review infrastructure
Overview of Proposition 1D: K-12 School Facilities
- Format:
February 7, 2007 - Presented to the Senate Education Committee. review infrastructure
Improving Alternative Education in California
February 7, 2007 - Between 10 percent to 15 percent of high school students enroll in one of the state’s four alternative programs each year. These programs serve many of the state’s at-risk students. We recommend fixing the state and federal accountability programs so that schools and districts are held responsible for the success of students in alternative programs. We also recommend funding reforms that reinforce the district’s responsibility for creating effective options for students.
A Review of UC’s Long Range Development Planning Process
January 11, 2007 - Each campus and medical center of the University of California (UC) periodically develops a long range development plan (LRDP) that guides its physical development--based on academic goals and projected student enrollment levels--for an established time horizon. This report reviews the process used by UC to prepare LRDPs and analyzes whether it adequately addresses the impacts that campus growth has on surrounding communities. We generally found a lack of accountability, standardization, and clarity in the current process, and recommend steps to make the process more transparent and effective (such as ensuring greater legislative oversight and public involvement in the development of an LRDP).
Developing Safety and Quality Ratings for Child Care: Issues and Options
January 4, 2007 - Although the state licenses about 58,000 child care facilities serving up to 1.2 million children, there is little information readily available to parents about the safety and quality of this care. This report describes options to improve the availability of such information. We recommend that the availability of existing information be improved and that ratings be established based on a provider’s safety history.
Proposition 88
- Format:
September 29, 2006 - Presented to the Joint Hearing of Senate and Assembly Education committees and Revenue and Taxation Committees.
History and Development of Charter School Policy in California
- Format:
August 7, 2006 - Presented to Senate Select Committee on California's Master Plan for Education, Informational Hearing on Charter Schools.