The Locus of Local Control: Revisiting the LCFF (Part Two)

In part two of our focus on California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), we examine more closely the concept of local control, especially as it relates to educational equity. Host Jason Willis and special guests consider vital questions, including:

• How does the State’s shift to local control impact equity? 
• How do we strike a balance between local autonomy, innovation, compliance and accountability?
• How effective are the 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, in our final segment, we delve into the practical, hands-on experiences of Heather Naylor, 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.