February 26, 2013: Gov. Brown's "Local Control Funding Formula," the overhaul of public (and charter) school financing proposed for '13-'14 budget year into two primary formulas eliminates the majority of categorical programs. As to local control funding behaviors in the past, let's go to the video tape:
The 2011, the RAND Corporation, funded by private foundation money, examined how 10 school districts responded to the ("not a well-articulated policy") deregulations (SBX-4 2009)of $4.5 billion in categorial flexing ("local educators [were freed] from specific guidelines that ...regulated spending on 40 [categoricals]"). Most of the districts used the money to "backfill" cuts. Some highlights:
*GATE programs were pared-back or eliminated in six of 10 case study districts.
*Tutoring for high school exit exam for "adolescents at risk of not passing" were cut
*Budget decisions were made primarily by superintendents and "senior staff" (mostly "chief financial officers")
*Adult education was cut in eight of 10 districts
Listed for consolidation into the to-be-locally-controlled block of cash:
Adult education
Regional occupational centers and programs
School and library improvement block grant
Summer school programs
Instructional material block grant
Deferred maintenance
Professional development block grant
Grade 7-12 counseling
Teacher credentialing block grant
School safety
High school class size reduction
Pupil retention block grant
California high school exit exam tutoring
California School Age Families Education (Cal-SAFE)
Professional development for math and English
Gifted and talented education (GATE)
Community-based English tutoring
Physical education block grant
Alternative credentialing
Staff development Development
School Safety Competitive grant
Educational technology
Certificated staff mentoring
Specialized secondary program grants
Principal training
Oral health assessments
K-3 size reduction
Economic impact aid
Partnership academies
Foster youth programs
Community day schools (for mandatory expelled)
Agricultural vocational education
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