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California Election Impacts on Charter School Funding

Branché Jones

November 9, 2012

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With Election Day now behind us, it is clear that the big winner in California was the governor, Jerry Brown. Brown had staked his entire credibility on the passage of his budget-helping measure Proposition 30, and he saw it pass by a comfortable margin.  With the passage of Proposition 30, schools in California will now avoid a $450 per pupil cut in their budgets. The governor’s measure passed while Molly Munger’s initiative, Proposition 38, was defeated. Another big win for Brown was both houses of the legislature electing supermajorities of Democratic members. With this new supermajority, the Democrats will not have to negotiate with Republicans to pass legislation that requires a 2/3 vote, even after raising taxes. A clean sweep was completed for members of the Democratic coalition by the unions defeating Proposition 32, seen as an anti-union measure funded by special interests from outside of the state.
For election reformers, there were additional victories as Cheryl Brown defeated Joe Baca, Jr. in California’s 47th Assembly District, and Raul Bocanegra and Ian Calderon were elected to Assembly seats in Los Angeles – great news for those interested in the potential for increased charter school funding. Ms. Brown has a long history of supporting education reform efforts and her husband, Hardy Brown, is a longtime education reform advocate in California.  She was supported by education reform and tribal interests and was the number one priority of the legislative Black Caucus.  Bocanegra is a moderate who was a longtime Assembly staffer, and Calderon has already signaled that he will champion education reform issues in the Assembly.  Overall, though the Assembly Democratic caucus is larger, it is also more moderate, which should be a good sign for education reform and charter funding throughout the state.
For more news about changes in charter school funding and information about financing your school, visit our blog.

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