Achievement gap defies spending

When Jerry Brown returned to the governorship in 2011, a quarter-century after his first stint in California’s highest office ended, one of his early goals was changing how the state finances the education of nearly 6 million public school students.

Brown had a plan, adapted from the theory of Michael Kirst, a distinguished academic and Brown’s long-time education advisor, to concentrate more money on students who chronically trail in academic achievement; those from poor families and those who don’t speak English at home.

Kirst called it a “weighted formula,” and the legislation he and Brown persuaded the Legislature to adopt a decade ago was called “Local Control Funding Formula,” or LCFF. It would give school districts with large numbers of at-risk students in those two categories extra funds on the assumption that they would improve achievement.

The legislation lubricated passage by also eliminating most “categorical aids” — money for specific education programs — and thus giving local school officials more flexibility in spending money from local property taxes and state budget appropriations.

I owe huge thanks

Over the last decade, Brown, successor Gavin Newsom and the Legislature have allocated tens of billions of dollars to LCFF in hopes of closing what educators call the achievement gap between the kids deemed to need extra instructional help — about 60% of public school enrollment — and their more privileged peers.

Has it worked? Followup studies indicate that there may have been a slight narrowing of the gap, but whatever LCFF achieved vanished during the COVID-19 pandemic. At-risk kids were profoundly affected by school closures, since they had less ability to engage in remote learning, dubbed “Zoom school,” and less access to tutoring than more affluent families.

Pandemic impacts aside, LCFF has not delivered on its promised transformative impact. Even if spending more money would have narrowed the gap — an unproven theory — many school districts, particularly those in urban areas dominated by hardball politics, often fail to concentrate the extra funds on at-risk kids.

Brown insisted that the funds go to districts, not the specific schools where the targeted kids were most numerous, saying he trusted local educators to spend the money wisely. He dubbed it “subsidiarity,” adapting the term from an obscure theological theory.

Education reform groups have criticized Brown’s hands-off approach, saying local school systems need more oversight to prevent them from diverting LCFF funds to other purposes. However, in a recent podcast interview marking the formula’s 10th anniversary, Brown complained that districts have not been given enough flexibility.

“We spend too much time on not anything to do with teaching. It’s accountability, it’s finance, it’s compliance. This is really a noxious evolution,” Brown said during the interview. “I hope that legislators be aware they’ve gone overboard ... we have to look for the wise path.” do for these 27 years and that makes it all worthwhile.

Jeff Simons

Watermelon

Music

Our brothers and sisters

The recent outpouring of support for Watermelon Music far exceeded my expectations. Thanks to all of you for your donations and in-store purchases; for your kind words and memories; for sharing our situation with your friends and family; and for reminding me why I wanted to start up this business in this city to begin with.

Huge thanks to Lara Downes for her offer to perform a benefit concert, and to Super Owl Brewing, Great Bear Vineyards and Mabel’s Farm Box for their contributions toward making the event such a special night. To St. James School, Woodland Christian School, The Davis Music Teachers’ Association, The Folk Music Folks and the dozens of other individuals and organizations that helped to bring Watermelon Music back from the brink, please accept my sincere thanks. It is clear to me now that the community understands and appreciates what we’ve tried to

Speak

President

Most Americans do not understand that our grandparents and great grandparents came to the United States as immigrants. Today they come to escape poverty, or just seeking a better life, or escape political unrest, or for protection from gangs, war, abuse, rape, and murder.

Today, when we think of immigrants, refugees, or aliens, we think of what?

Some Americans think of them as enemies.

Refugees travel hundreds of miles, others thousands, by foot, with only the clothes on their backs.

They stomp through thick, foliaged jungles, up steep sharp rocked mountains, across raging rivers. In blistering heat, freezing cold, pouring rain, and deep fallen snow. Starving, thirsty, tired.

Many are entire families, losing grandmas and babies along the way, who cannot

Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202224-3553; email: https://www.padilla. senate.gov/contact/contact-form/

House of Representatives

Meanwhile, in a separate 10th anniversary interview, Kirst said he regrets that local districts did not use subsidiarity’s flexibility to become more creative in educating kids who fall behind.

“This was their chance to get beyond formulaic budgets and the budget complexity to create a three-year budget plan with clear priorities,” Kirst lamented. “And generally, my impression is that they have not.” endure the treacherous journey. They have to leave their bodies behind, and bury them along the way. They must say goodbye, never again to find, or visit their resting place.

Neither of LCFF’s two fathers offered any appraisal of whether children it purports to help have, in fact, been helped. That lack may indicate that both know LCFF – as implemented, not as envisioned – has not been a roaring success.

California has doubled the amount of per-pupil spending on schooling in the last decade but in national tests of academic achievement, the state still trails other states that spend much less, while state testing tells us that the achievement gap remains unacceptably wide.

— CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to Commentary.

Why can’t we welcome them with open arms, instead of treating them like enemies?

I am not talking about drug dealers and murderers. They’re a drop in the bucket.

These are folks who want to work hard, and build a life for their families. They are so so willing to work, harder than most of us Americans. We must rethink this situation. It is heartbreaking.

Yeah, they are filthy, and they are exhausted. So what? How would you look if you had only the clothes on your back, and had walked for weeks, or months, in the worst conditions?

We are no better than they are. No better! Many of them had jobs, and homes, and lives in familiar areas. We need to treat them like our brothers and sisters, because they are.

Susie Aronson Sacramento

CEO

The Hon. Joe Biden, The White House, Washington, D.C., 20500; 202-456-1111 (comments), 202-456-1414 (switchboard); email: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

U.S. Senate

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 331 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3841; email: https://www. feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/ e-mail-me

Sen. Alex Padilla, 112 Hart Senate Office

Rep. Mike Thompson, 268 Cannon Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20515; 202225-3311. District office: 622 Main Street, Suite 106, Woodland, CA 95695; 530-753-5301; email: https:// https:// mikethompsonforms.house.gov/contact/

Governor Gov. Gavin Newsom, State Capitol, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814; 916-4452841; email: https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/ gov40mail/

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