Manzo: A plea to fix California’s failed school funding model

As an educator with more than three decades of experience, including 16 years as a superintendent in the Bay Area, I’m deeply concerned about the crisis in California’s public schools. Recent school closures in the Bay Area serve as a stark reminder that the state’s education funding model is outdated and inequitable.

California’s local control funding formula is designed to provide funding based on student demographics, but it fails to account for the high cost of living in certain regions. In places like the Bay Area, Los Angeles and other metropolitan centers, the operational costs of running schools are significantly higher due to housing prices and living expenses. However, these districts receive the same per-pupil funding as districts in lower-cost regions.

This funding model puts high-cost districts at a severe disadvantage. With declining enrollment — often due to the unaffordability of living in these areas — these districts are forced to make difficult choices like laying off teachers, cutting programs and even closing schools. Meanwhile, students in these regions may not be receiving the educational experience they deserve.

The focus, however, should not be on local school boards or administrators, who are often blamed when schools close or programs are cut. The real issue lies in the state’s inequitable funding structure.

California must address the disparities by introducing a cost of living adjustment for school funding, similar to models in other states like New York. Such adjustments would allow districts in high-cost regions to receive the resources they need to maintain quality education.

If California is to live up to its commitment to equitable education, the state must reform its funding model to better reflect the varying costs of educating students in different regions. This means providing additional support for districts where operational expenses exceed state funding allocations and where declining enrollment exacerbates financial challenges.

Parents and community members can play a crucial role in driving change by:

• Educating themselves: The Silicon Valley Education Foundation’s video, “ZIP Code Code Red,” explains the inequities in California’s funding system.
• Learning about school funding: Non-partisan resources like the Public Policy Institute of California offer valuable insights into how the state allocates money for K-12 education.
• Advocating for change: Parents and community members should urge state legislators to adopt a more equitable funding model that adjusts for regional cost of living differences, including salaries and operational expenses.

Only by working together can we ensure all students, regardless of where they live, have access to the high-quality education they deserve. It’s time for California to recognize the true costs of educating students in diverse economic landscapes and take action to fix this systemic inequality.

José L. Manzo is the superintendent-in-residence at Voler Strategic Advisors, founder of All Schools Services, LLC and retired superintendent at Oak Grove School District. Contact him at [email protected].