Governor’s 2013-14 January Budget: What It Means for Piedmont USD

The Piedmont Unified School Dstrict issued the following statement Friday afternoon:

There is optimistic news for K-12 education from Sacramento in Governor Brown’s Proposed Budget announced Thursday. Thanks to the passage of Prop 30, the best news is the promise of increased stability in funding for the next few years. (Please note that definitive funding for education will not be known until the Adopted State Budget, which has a statutory approval deadline of July 1, 2013.)

Many heard the Governor mention Piedmont as part of his press conference on school funding in reference to certain districts in greater need of the surplus funds generated by Prop 30 than others.

Under the proposed new Student Weighted Formula (SWF) as we understand it now –the new funding formula is not about districts “winning or losing” but about all students in California having access to the education they deserve. We applaud the efforts of the current State Administration in moving toward adequate funding to meet the needs of all students in public schools. 

What does this mean for Piedmont? The Governor’s proposal, unlike those in previous years, seems to be trending toward the optimistic and Piedmont is hopeful that we may see an increase in funds – enough so that we may be able to return to a full school year by eliminating the five furlough days. Our funding from the State could increase, but please note that it will not come close to restoring the losses in State revenue that we have endured over the past five years.

It is also important to understand that this is the Governor’s Proposed Budget and it is not a done deal. The Governor will present a Revised Budget in May, and the final budget is required to be approved by the Legislature by June 30, 2013. The January proposals trends more positively or negatively than the final adopted budget depending on economic forecasts.

Please stay tuned as we learn more about the funding proposals. Check our website at www.piedmont.k12.ca.us for updates. 

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