Gov. Brown: CA Deficit Gone, More Money for Poor Schools

Underprivileged schools would get more per-student funding than other schools across the state under a proposed budget unveiled Thursday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

“Our future depends not on across-the-board funding, but disproportionately funding those schools that have disproportionate challenges,” Brown said at a press conference.

He also said most categorical funding for schools should be eliminated and the money delivered more directly.

“As you go up the line you lose control and build bureaucracy,” the governor said. “We want to put the money into local schools, but create greater control.”

Brown said the state's deficit is gone for the first time in years, adding it could reduce its debt substantially by 2016.

“The deficit's gone; the wall of debt remains,” Brown said, noting the state's $36 billion debt could be reduced to $4.3 billion by 2016. 

The budget proposed by Brown also increases per-student funding for all levels of education; by the 2016-17 school year, K-12 schools would see a $2,681 increase in spending for each student. At the CSU and UC levels, spending would increase by about $2,000 and $2,500 by 2016-17, respectively.

The governor's office touts the following claims of his budget: 

• Maintains Long-Term Fiscal Stability
• Invests in Education and Increases Local Control
• Increases Funding to Strengthen Higher Education and Increase Affordability
• Implements Federal Health Care Reform

Click here if you'd like to view the full budget, and budget reports.

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