Ted Lempert
June xiv, 2013

Picture of Ted Lempert

Ted Lempert

California is well-nigh to embark on the about comprehensive reform to its school finance organization in twoscore years, putting local communities in the commuter'south seat and making a historic investment of more than $10 billion in high-needs students. The compromise Local Command Funding Formula (LCFF) to be voted on by the state Legislature past the June fifteen deadline too fairly addresses the earlier "winners-losers" concern by increasing the base grant and ensuring that all districts receive boosted funding.

The new funding formula also benefits all districts by increasing local flexibility. Communities will exist able to arts and crafts locally adamant approaches to how they will brainwash all students, and develop their own specific services and support for high-needs students. In addition, if a student begins to show poor academic outcomes, educators can now respond apace to accost the situation and get that pupil the services needed to get back on rail. Districts can as well look to neighboring regions that are yielding quality results for new ideas and solutions, and tailor them to run into their local needs.

With this flexibility as well comes accountability. The public volition accept more information on how a commune is addressing fundamental country and local priorities and how the district is budgeting to come across those expectations. If pupil outcomes are faltering and greater activity is needed, the requirements in LCFF phone call upon the county and state to go engaged and make adjustments.

The big picture is that this is a huge win for kids. But rather than celebrate, our collective piece of work must now immediately focus on ensuring that LCFF is implemented to reach the intended results.

California is well positioned to begin that successful implementation process. LCFF has brought together an impressive variety of leaders and organizations from across the state. What started as a modest core group pushing for central modify is now a network of more than 100 diverse organizations, including education, business concern, parent, civil-rights and community organizations, which accept helped to become this historic reform accomplished.

Every one of these groups has somewhat dissimilar and compelling reasons for supporting LCFF. Only what we have heard time and once again from all of our partners are three goals: i) a more rational and transparent finance system; two) fostering customs buying and innovation, while maintaining and strengthening accountability; and 3) a finance system that is fundamentally equitable and invests significantly in our most vulnerable student populations.

At that place's no one-time solution or quick fix to address all the challenges and issues that we face in California's education system, and there'southward much more than policy and funding work to practice to ensure that all of our kids accomplish their total potential. Still, LCFF is a major improvement and a historic step in the correct management.

Children Now applauds the efforts by policymakers, statewide organizations and leaders and, well-nigh importantly, the teachers, administrators, parents and community advocates who are ready to pace up to ensure that this opportunity translates into tangible, positive outcomes for all of California's kids.

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Ted Lempert is the president of Children Now, the leading nonpartisan, mu lti-outcome research, policy development and advancement arrangement dedicated to promoting children'due south wellness and education in California, and the leader of The Children's Movement of California.

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