Copyright© 2000 by School Services of California, Inc.
By the Way . . .
Assembly Speaker Hertzberg to Introduce Education Bond. At a recent
meeting of education leaders, Rick Simpson, chief policy advisor to the Speaker,
indicated that the Speaker would introduce an education bond proposal for
the March 2002 election. The proposal would include one bond for two election
cycles; funding would therefore be for four years. K-12 and postsecondary
education would be included in the same bond bill-there would not be separate
bonds based on educational segments.
Allocation of bond proceeds for postsecondary education would not be distributed on the historical one-third split between UC, CSU, and community colleges, but rather based on some set of need indicators. Mr. Simpson indicated that proceeds based strictly on one indicator (such as enrollments) would not be a sufficient allocation mechanism in itself, but suggested that a set of indicators (not yet fully defined) would be more appropriate.
It is the Speaker's view that even the passage of Proposition 39 (55% bond approval) does not resolve the long-term financing issues of K-14 schools. The unmet need is so large that state support is still needed to finance K-14 capital outlay needs.
In addition to the education bond, Assembly Speaker Hertzberg is soliciting other budget and legislative ideas that may be of benefit to the community colleges.