California Governor Gavin Newsom will present the 2024-25 January budget proposal on Wednesday, which comes amid the state facing a projected $68 billion budget deficit.
There are concerns that lawmakers will have to make some deep cuts, including cuts in education funding.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office, the nonpartisan government agency that announced the estimated budget deficit back in December, suggested the state could “reduce General Fund costs by $16.7 billion if it were to lower school spending to the constitutional minimum allowed under Proposition 98.’
“One option for implementing some of this reduction would be to use the Proposition 98 Reserve to cover school‑related costs that exceed the Proposition 98 minimum requirement in 2022‑23,” according to the LAO.
Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College, said schools are “a huge area of state spending. “
“And even though every politician likes to protect spending for schools and even though Proposition 98 guarantees a certain minimal level of funding, it's still possible to make some cuts in education, and given the arithmetic, those cuts might be inevitable,” he said.
This comes as the $5.6 billion in pandemic funding awarded Los Angeles Unified School District is set to expire in September, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. The district still relies on the funding to help pay for 1,800 full-time jobs.
On Monday, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said regarding the possible impact of the state budget deficit, “We believe we have the right strategy and the resources to be able to overcome what is expected to be a rather difficult year across the state."
The proposal will be unveiled at 10:30 A.M.
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