California's public schools have seen a precipitous decline in state money during the past three years, and it will get worse given the latest budget impasse in Sacramento.
Cuts fall hard on urban school districts. But no district is left unscathed, including those in wealthier suburban areas where test scores are high and parents praise the public schools.
The politics behind the education cuts is interesting. Democratic legislators represent most big cities, and pushed to place before voters Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to extend $11 billion in taxes.
Republicans, who blocked that vote, often represent suburban regions, and school districts in their districts also are taking big budget hits. There could be a backlash.
So what's at stake in this restructuring of California's public schools? Larger classes. Almost nonexistent textbook purchases. Teachers and support staff being laid off. Reductions in counselor positions.
These categories aren't just budget numbers. They impact your children and the quality of education they will be receiving.
And it's going to get worse. Brown pushed for a "half & half" approach for solving the state's deficit -- half in program cuts and half in tax extensions. Republicans blocked even a vote on that plan.
If voters had approved the tax extensions, education would have had essentially flat funding, a little less than the year before. But the bleeding would have been stanched.
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