With U.S. stocks just suffering their worst day since the 1987 crash, followed immediately by one of their best single days, some economists are saying buckle-up and worrying that the coronavirus may help send the economy into a recession. The...

Ballots from last week’s election are still being counted and it will be weeks before the final numbers are tallied, but with that caveat, it appears that a $15 billion school bond issue — the only statewide ballot measure —...

School districts have turned to parcel taxes in recent years to raise money for school programs, class-size reduction and teacher salaries. California voters were uncharacteristically stingy this week when they rejected more than half the local school bonds and tax measures...

Last October, when he signed the legislation that placed Proposition 13 on the ballot, Gov. Gavin Newsom made a prediction: “Voters will approve this bond, because voters historically approve school bonds.” Newsom and supporters, who spent millions of dollars campaigning...

When they cast their votes in the March 3 primary election, South Bay residents could be forgiven for thinking they had stepped into a time machine. There’s a divisive measure on the ballot with the potential to greatly change financing...

In winter 2019, strikes by Los Angeles and Oakland teachers dominated headlines. Teachers in both cities ultimately won more pay and support staff, but the strikes also presented an opportunity for additional change. The Los Angeles Times editorial board, for...

The March 3 California ballot includes a $15 billion state bond issue to help schools, community colleges and universities with construction costs for their facilities. Last fall, the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom placed the measure on the ballot by...

Impact of teacher activism in California being felt in multiple but less visible ways, leaders say.

A year ago teachers in Los Angeles were celebrating the signing of a new agreement with their district after an outpouring of support from teachers around California and the larger public. But since then, there have been few visible signs...

Governor Newsom’s proposed 20-21 state budget directs $3.8 billion in new revenue towards public schools. However, it is not enough. The California School Board Association reports that California ranks 38th nationally in school funding, $2,475 per student below the national...

Local officials have begun reevaluating how much their communities are getting for their single biggest expense: the degree-certified competence of public school teachers and administrators. Does every school system really need a credentialed curriculum director, when any good teacher should...

A key goal of public education is to provide equitable opportunities for students, regardless of their backgrounds and circumstances. Achievement gaps on state standardized tests based on differences in family income levels are staggeringly wide and have become larger over...

California’s local governments—cities especially—and school districts have been packing ballots with tax increase measures in recent years and another batch is on tap for next year. Voters have, more often than not, bought into officials’ pleas for more revenue and...

A report by a team from a Stanford University public policy organization makes a case that taxpayers and educators should heed. The growing cost of pensions for public school teachers is driving local school taxes while eating away at the...

By most accounts, California is thriving. Industries including entertainment, technology, real estate, and agriculture are flourishing, and state coffers are growing thanks to a booming economy and additional revenues raised by voters at the ballot box. At the same time...

Sacramento’s school system has emerged as an example of mismanagement that shows no indication of changing. Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), a prestigious think tank created by California’s major universities, has chosen Sacramento City as a starkly negative example...

The unexpected defeat in 2016 of a school parcel tax in wealthy Marin County and the near-defeat of another in the county that same year prompted a trio of authors to look into what had turned many voters against them.

Policy Analysis for California Education, in a new report, found that other school districts in California that may have similar budgetary problems should heed Sacramento City Unified’s ongoing fight as a warning.

Sacramento City Unified's ongoing labor fight serves as a cautionary tale for other school districts in California that may have similar problems lurking in their finances, an education think tank says in a new report issued today. A strained relationship...

The California School Boards Association and its partners last week took the next step toward putting a $15 billion tax initiative for K-12 schools and community colleges on the ballot, setting up the possibility that two competing tax measures will...

Advocates, leaders and researchers have been waiting for a long time to have an early childhood champion in the governor’s office. Now we finally have one. Gov. Gavin Newsom and the new California Legislature have a historic opportunity to put...

California school districts need to significantly increase their education spending to ensure that students have adequate resources and support to provide the state’s content standards and meet its academic goals. Based on 2016-17 numbers, funding schools adequately to meet these...