California's Children

CA School Bds Ass'n endorse *both* tax initiatives for school $$

UPDATE, May, 2012: In an "unprecedented move," the California School Boards Association (CSBA) has voted to endorse both tax initiatives that would raise revenue for K-12 schools on the November ballot, reports Kevin Yamamura for the Sacramento Bee.

The two initiatives on the ballot are Governor Brown's compromise tax proposal with the California Federation of Teachers that temporarily raises sales tax and income tax on the wealthiest earners, and Molly Munger's  "Our Children, Our Future, 2012," an across-the-board tax hike sponsored by the state PTA. Read below for previously reported details.

CA Senate hearings today: Liu's Subcom #1 on Educ, public comment open

May 23, 2012: The CA state Senate Subcommmittee on Education #1, chair by Senator Carol Liu, will hold hearings today at 1:30 in the John L. Burton Hearing Room (4203) at the Capitol, Sacramento. 

On the agenda: the May budget revise  as it affects child care and development programs and their providers; it is expected to include a discussion of the proposed rate cuts in state-funded subsidies for child care both licensed and exempt child care providers. 

Public comment is welcome. Sen. Liu's office number is 916-651-4103. The Subcommittee staff director is Keely Bosler.

As Preschool California notes:

Additionally, the governor’s proposal to restructure child care and development programs, except for part-day preschool, to county welfare offices would leave 80,000 low-income children without early learning programs. This proposal will completely devastate our early learning system with no savings to the state.

30,000 kids dumped from early ed w/May revise cuts

May 22, 2012: If the $517 million in cuts to early education -- proposed in Governor Brown's "May revise" to the California 2012-13 budget -- are enacted by the Legislature, approximately 30,000 children living in California's lowest-income families will no longer have access to early education programs. (In the past four years, early ed has taken a 42% hit -- nearly $1 billion.)

According to Giuliana Halasz, above, CEO of the Professional Association for Childhood Education Alternative Payment Program (PACEAPP):

 "These cuts will also drive many small [early education] centers out of business, resulting in more than just a business closing: [these changes remove] a child care infrastructure that will be difficult and costly to replace...Early childhood education adds 200,000 jobs and $11 billion to California's economy. This proposal is a job killer for the clients we serve. Women are the losers here. They are a majority of the clients, small business owners and teachers. Governor Brown's drastic budget cuts are a direct attack on our children and their future..."

Also included in the May revise is the Governor's proposal to move administration of subsidized child care from the Dept. of Education to the Dept. of Social Services, essentially gutting the early education component of the program and reducing it to a babysitting service. [Full disclosure: California's Children is sponsored by Human Services Management Corporation, a San Francisco-based company that administers the PACE Alternative Payment Program. The editor of this site, Wendy Lestina, has been an advocate for early education in low-income neighborhoods in California for nearly 50 years.]

May revise, Part 5: CalWORKs CDE to DSS shift maintained

UPDATE, May 15, 2012: Disconcerting for early education professionals studying the Governor's May revision to the 2012-13 budget is the retention -- despite prior Legislative Analyst's Office and State Assembly rejections (see prior stories below) -- of the shift of administration of the CalWORKs program from the Dept. of Education (CDE) to the Dept. of Social Services (DSS) and county welfare departments.

UPDATE, March 16, 2012: Following the recommendation of the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) -- see story below, the Assembly Budget Subcommittees on Education Finance and Health & Human Services, in a joint hearing, voted March 15 to reject Governor Brown's proposed restructuring of the system that would have included moving child care and development programs from the Dept. of Education (CDE) to the Dept. of Social Services (DSS) and county welfare departments. 

UPDATE, February 28, 2012: In a report to the legislature last week, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) recommended that the shift of administrative responsibilities for subsidized child care be abandoned by the Governor in order to focus on more effective, cost-reducing priorities. From the report, issued Wednesday, February 22:

May revise, Part 4: Cal Budget Proj: "We are concerned..."

May 15, 2012: Scott Graves, senior policy analyst of the California Budget Project comments on Governor Brown's May revisions of the 2012-13 budget, released yesterday, stating the CBP's concern that the increased cuts further destroy the state's safety net for vulnerable populations. A full analysis can be read here.

An excerpt:

... Without a balanced approach to addressing the budget gap – one that includes additional revenues – we face even deeper cuts to schools, colleges, and other core public structures... The tax measure the Governor plans to put before voters in November provides a reasonable, sound approach to stabilizing the state budget and creating a foundation on which to rebuild going forward.

“To the extent that cuts are made to address the budget gap, such reductions should be carefully targeted so they don’t endanger vulnerable families, children, and seniors, who have already borne the brunt of recent years’ budget cuts. ...we are concerned that the Governor’s May Revision deepens his proposed cuts to the state’s safety net, while also making significant reductions to child care and other programs and supports that help Californians prepare for and keep jobs...