Lots of debate going on about the cuts proposed to schools. Some headlines estimates say 100K lost jobs? Really, did they check the facts? Read for yourself to see how you think the cuts will pan out. More to come on this topic when I do a bit more research. Please comment.

From the California Budget Project: http://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2008/080116_govbudget.pdf

Here are the education reduction plans taken from the report above:

“K-12 Education
The Governor’s Proposed Budget reflects a total 2008-09 funding level of $55.6 billion for K-14 education programs covered by the Proposition 98 school funding guarantee, 2.5 percent below the funding level of $57.1 billion assumed by the 2007-08 Budget when it was enacted in August of 2007. The Governor’s Proposed Budget estimates that Proposition 98 would require a total of $59.7 billion in combined state and local spending in 2008-09. However, the Governor proposes to suspend the 2008-09 Proposition 98 guarantee and reduce funding for K-14 education by $4 billion. The Governor’s Proposed Budget allocates $39.6 billion as the state’s share of 2008-09 Proposition 98 funding, 9.2 percent less than would be required by the Proposition 98 guarantee. The Governor’s proposal translates into K-12 Proposition 98 per pupil spending of $8,458 in 2008-09, down from $8,558 in 2007-08, a 1.2 percent decrease.
The Governor proposes to seek legislation to reduce 2007-08 Proposition 98 spending by $400 million. The Governor’s proposal is motivated by the fact that current fund allocations from combined state and local sources exceed the level required by the Proposition 98 guarantee. This reflects the fact that, because of changing economic conditions, the Proposition 98 guarantee is now estimated to be lower than the level assumed by the 2007-08 Budget. The Governor also proposes to delay $1.3 billion in payments to K-14 education from July 2008 to September 2008.
To achieve the $4.4 billion in proposed 2008-09 General Fund reductions to K-12 education, the Governor proposes to:
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Reduce general purpose funds for school districts and county offices of education by $142.4 million due to a projected enrollment decline of 0.52 percent.
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Reduce revenue limit funding by $2.6 billion by eliminating the 4.94 percent COLA for school district and county offices of education. In addition, the Governor proposes to change the formula used to calculate the COLA for K-
7
12 education programs. The Governor’s proposal would reduce the 2008-09 COLA from 4.94 percent to 3.65 percent. Revenue limits provide general purpose funding for schools.
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Reduce the state’s contribution to the STRS for retiree purchasing power protection from 2.5 percent to 2.2 percent of teacher payroll, for savings of $80 million, based on an actuarial study which found the benefit to be adequately funded. The Governor proposed – and the Legislature rejected – a similar change in 2007, which the Legislative Analyst notes “may violate active and retired teachers’ contractual rights and, therefore, be legally unworkable.”
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Reduce funding for a number of categorical programs by $1.1 billion. In order to achieve these savings, the Governor proposes to eliminate COLAs and reduce rate allocations. Categorical programs include class size reduction, instructional materials, home-to-school transportation, and various career technical education programs.
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Reduce special education funding by $357.9 million. The Governor proposes to eliminate COLAs and reduce existing state funding for special education. The Governor’s Proposed Budget states that schools may have to “backfill” these reductions since special education programs are federally mandated.”