2012-2013 State Budget Update

I have been too busy to write a detailed analysis of the Governor's proposed budget, released in January. The upshot is that there are lots of unknowns as we head into the 2012-2013 budget year. Governor Brown is tying the budget for schools to an initiative with tax increases that will appear on the November 2012 ballot.

If the tax measures pass, school budgets will increase, although the increase will be primarily used to end some of the deferrals that delay when school districts receive money from the state. So the results would be mainly status quo for school districts. If the tax measures fail, the Governor is proposing major cuts next year, more than 5%. As we plan for next year, we don't know what the outcome will be. So it leaves lots of unknowns in place.

After next week's Board Meeting, I will write more about where the Berryessa School District stands and how we are hoping to craft our budget for the coming year. For now, there is a good article written by another David Cohen, a school teacher from Palo Alto. Every year, State Senator Joe Simitian holds an education update. This year, the focus was on the Governor's budget proposal. Read the summary of the hearing here:

http://accomplishedcaliforniateachers.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/california-education-update/