A new California bill would help close the school funding gap between schools in wealthy areas and those in economically threatened areas.
The bill, authored by state Sen. Dave Cortese, creates sort of an endowment with the state to be able to pay for the plan.
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WATCH HERERight now, the state uses property tax data to determine how much money each school district gets. Educators said that’s where the disparity lies.
The East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD) in San Jose receives $14,000 per student every year.
"Students 20 minutes from here are funded at $26,000 per student," ESUHSD Superintendent Glenn Vander Zee said.
Vander Zee said the state graduation requirements are the same for every student, but every student doesn't have the same tools to reach those requirements.
Senate Bill 743 aims to change that.
California
"No child should be at a disadvantage simply because of where their parents chose to live," Cortese said.
The bill would create what's called an education equalization account – a savings account that will tap into a portion of the general fund surplus each year. Under the bill, revenues from that account would go to underfunded schools.
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SIGN UP "This is the game changer," said Dr. Lisa Andrew with the Silicon Valley Education Foundation. "If we truly as a state want every student to have access to economic mobility, generational wealth, this is the game changer."
Cortese said there will be naysayers, but he’s ready to take it to voters if the state doesn't pass his plan.
"We’ll have to go collect signatures and put it on the ballot ourselves, but I intend to do that," he said.
