6 - Revisiting the LCFF, California's Landmark School Funding Reform
11/02/21 • 58 min
The Local Control Funding Formula, or LCFF, ushered in a new era of school funding in California when it was adopted in 2013. It's regarded by many as the most significant resource equity reform the state has ever enacted. But how has the LCFF worked? Has it accomplished what it was intended to? And how are inherent tensions between local and state decision making authority, oversight and accountability being navigated?
In this episode, host Jason Willis and special guests explore key elements of the LCFF.
Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez provides a review of the law, based on her unique perspective both as a locally elected school board member in Azusa USD and as Deputy Director for Californians Together, a statewide group that advocates on behalf of English Learner students. Xilonin also serves as immediate past president of the California School Boards Association.
Richard De Nava, Assistant Superintendent, Business Services at San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, shares insights about the policy and practical implications of the LCFF. Richard also serves as president of CASBO.
And Mike Kirst, former State Board of Education President, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, and chief architect of the LCFF under Gov. Jerry Brown, offers a remarkable glimpse into the development of the formula, including some of the difficult choices, innovative thinking and pragmatic considerations that went into creating the new law.
Additional Background
As part of the LCFF, all Local Education Agencies receive a per-student funding allocation known as a base grant, plus targeted additional funding depending on the needs of certain students (known as supplemental and concentration grants). Districts must also engage stakeholders before adopting a Local Control and Accountability Plan. While the new law has shifted more discretion for budgetary decisions to local school districts, it has also brought to the surface inherent tensions between local and state decision making authority.
More resources
- NEW: "What's Next for the LCFF," report by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), November 2021
- NEW: "Targeted K-12 Funding and Student Outcomes," PPIC Policy Brief, October 2021
- "Why the LCFF? California's Landmark Move to an Equity-Based School Funding Formula," from the Adventures in Ed Funding CASBO podcast, March, 2020.
- "The LCFF After Four Years: What Do We Know?" brief summarizing four Getting Down To Facts II technical reports related to LCFF implementation.
About our series
Budgeting for Educational Equity is presented by the California Association of School Business Official (CASBO) and WestEd. We are grateful to the Sobrato Family Foundation for additional support. Our series is written and produced by Paul Richman and Jason Willis. Original music, mixing and sound by Tommy Dunbar. John Diaz at WestEd develops the written briefs that go along with each episode.
Follow us on Twitter at @Budget4EdEquity to keep up to date on the series and share your thoughts, ideas, questions and feedback.
The Local Control Funding Formula, or LCFF, ushered in a new era of school funding in California when it was adopted in 2013. It's regarded by many as the most significant resource equity reform the state has ever enacted. But how has the LCFF worked? Has it accomplished what it was intended to? And how are inherent tensions between local and state decision making authority, oversight and accountability being navigated?
In this episode, host Jason Willis and special guests explore key elements of the LCFF.
Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez provides a review of the law, based on her unique perspective both as a locally elected school board member in Azusa USD and as Deputy Director for Californians Together, a statewide group that advocates on behalf of English Learner students. Xilonin also serves as immediate past president of the California School Boards Association.
Richard De Nava, Assistant Superintendent, Business Services at San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, shares insights about the policy and practical implications of the LCFF. Richard also serves as president of CASBO.
And Mike Kirst, former State Board of Education President, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, and chief architect of the LCFF under Gov. Jerry Brown, offers a remarkable glimpse into the development of the formula, including some of the difficult choices, innovative thinking and pragmatic considerations that went into creating the new law.
Additional Background
As part of the LCFF, all Local Education Agencies receive a per-student funding allocation known as a base grant, plus targeted additional funding depending on the needs of certain students (known as supplemental and concentration grants). Districts must also engage stakeholders before adopting a Local Control and Accountability Plan. While the new law has shifted more discretion for budgetary decisions to local school districts, it has also brought to the surface inherent tensions between local and state decision making authority.
More resources
- NEW: "What's Next for the LCFF," report by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), November 2021
- NEW: "Targeted K-12 Funding and Student Outcomes," PPIC Policy Brief, October 2021
- "Why the LCFF? California's Landmark Move to an Equity-Based School Funding Formula," from the Adventures in Ed Funding CASBO podcast, March, 2020.
- "The LCFF After Four Years: What Do We Know?" brief summarizing four Getting Down To Facts II technical reports related to LCFF implementation.
About our series
Budgeting for Educational Equity is presented by the California Association of School Business Official (CASBO) and WestEd. We are grateful to the Sobrato Family Foundation for additional support. Our series is written and produced by Paul Richman and Jason Willis. Original music, mixing and sound by Tommy Dunbar. John Diaz at WestEd develops the written briefs that go along with each episode.
Follow us on Twitter at @Budget4EdEquity to keep up to date on the series and share your thoughts, ideas, questions and feedback.
Previous Episode
Updates -- Plus, Be Sure To Check Out Our Companion Briefs
We hope you've been enjoying the series so far and taking away a lot of useful information. This is a quick update to let you know we are busy working on several new episodes that will start posting in a few weeks. We also wanted to make you aware of the companion briefs that are now available online.
To describe these more, host Jason Willis introduces John Diaz, a financial analyst at WestEd, who has been leading the work in developing the companion briefs. The briefs serve as a helpful, interactive tool for listeners, building on strategies or practices articulated by our guests, and offering additional research on topics related to budgeting for educational equity.
Available Companion Briefs include:
- Download the companion brief to Episode 1: Defining an Approach to Equity
- Download the companion brief to Episode 2: Using Data to Advance Equity
- Download the companion brief to Episode 3: Planning for Change
- Download the companion brief to Episode 4: Meeting the Moment
More About the Series and the Briefs
Budgeting for Educational Equity is a podcast series that explores how education resources can be allocated to better meet the needs of all students. The companion briefs have been developed to provide opportunities for listeners to engage in tangible, practical application of the lessons derived from each episode. The brief can be used as a launching point for discus- sions about equity within communities and school district administrative offices. It can also be used to support existing ongoing work such as the Local Control Accountability Plan or district budget development. Episodes can be found online in the Show Notes and on the WestEd Budgeting for Educational Equity Podcast Series webpage.
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Budgeting for Educational Equity is presented by the California Association of School Business Official (CASBO), the premier resource for professional development and best practices for more than 24,000 California school business leaders, in partnership with WestEd, a national nonprofit research development and service agency that works to promote excellence and equity in education. We are grateful to the Sobrato Family Foundation for providing additional support.
Engage with us!
Follow us on Twitter at @Budget4EdEquity to keep up to date on the series and share your thoughts, ideas, questions and feedback.
Budgeting for Educational Equity is written and produced by Paul Richman and Jason Willis. Original music, mixing and sound by Tommy Dunbar. John Diaz at WestEd serves as an advisor and develops the written materials that go along with each episode.
Next Episode
The Locus of Local Control: Revisiting the LCFF (Part Two)
How has California's shift to the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) impacted equitable resource allocation? In part two of our focus on LCFF, host Jason Willis and special guests consider this and other vital questions, including:
- How do we best strike a balance between local autonomy, innovation, compliance and accountability?
- How effective are Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs) that all districts must adopt with stakeholder input?
- What role can school boards in particular play in the LCFF-LCAP process?
Plus, we delve into the practical, hands-on experiences of a veteran chief school business official who has implemented LCFF in her small, rural school district. She shares valuable strategies that school district leaders and business officials can draw on when implementing LCFF.
Guests:
- Heather Naylor has served as CBO in Gridley USD in Butte County for 17 years. The district serves approximately 2,100 students, 75% who qualify in the “unduplicated" student count. Gridley USD was recognized in a 2019 Learning Policy Institute study as a "Positive Outlier" for its promising practices and outcomes in closing opportunity gaps for students of color and all students.
- Christopher Edley, Jr., J.D., serves as interim dean for the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Education, and as professor and dean emeritus at the U.C. Berkeley School of Law.
- Maria Echaveste, J.D., serves as president and CEO of The Opportunity Institute. She previously served as White House deputy chief of staff.
- Mike Kirst is a former State Board of Education President and current Professor Emeritus at Stanford University. He was the chief architect of the LCFF under Gov. Jerry Brown.
- Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez serves as a school board member in Azusa USD, and as Deputy Director for Californians Together, a statewide advocacy group. She is immediate past president of the California School Boards Association.
More resources
- "What's Next for the LCFF," report by PACE, Nov., 2021
- "Targeted K-12 Funding and Student Outcomes," PPIC Policy Brief, Oct., 2021
- "Why the LCFF? California's Landmark Move to an Equity-Based School Funding Formula," from the "Adventures in Ed Funding" podcast, March, 2020.
Budgeting for Educational Equity is presented by the California Association of School Business Official (CASBO) and WestEd. We are grateful to the Sobrato Family Foundation for additional support. Our series is written and produced by Paul Richman and Jason Willis. Original music and editing by Tommy Dunbar. John Diaz at WestEd develops our companion written briefs.
Follow us at @Budget4EdEquity.
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