CCAE Leg Day Talking Points

CCAE Leg Day Talking Points  (Leg Day is Tues, March 24th)

In the coming weeks leading up to Leg Day at the Capitol, we urge you to familiarize yourself with the following key talking points related to the Governor's FY 15-16 Budget proposal. This time is a great time to ensure all members are properly educated as we move through the legislative budget process and ultimately to a vote of the full Legislature in June. As we've discussed previously, there are over 35 new members to quickly educate and catch up to speed on our issues and budget priorities.

Key Issues

• A Dedicated, Stable Funding Structure for K-12 Adult Schools
• upport for a Transition Year - Maintain Current K-12 Capacity
• Utilizing Existing State Fiscal Infrastructures to Apportion Funding
• AB 86 Plans Inform & Drive Funding

The focus of your meetings should be as follows:  

1. Educate them on who you are (K12 Adult School) and how you contribute to their district and constituents
2. Provide brief history on funding for K12 adult education:
3. Share your current status, AB 86 Consortium engagement & your AB 86 regional plan, explaining it from the K12 perspective - sharing positives as well as challenges
4. Make "the Ask"

"The Ask"

Support the Governor's Plan in Maintaining & Stabilizing K-12 Capacity with a Transition Year-Extension of the Maintenance of Effort / Maintenance of Capacity

• Maintenance of Capacity Funding for K-12 Out of FY 15-16 Allocation
  • Roughly $300-350 million of the $500 million Adult Education Block Grant
• Helps avoid March 15th layoff notices, provides stability and avoids closures of adult schools because it helps provide greater certainty for school districts in planning their budgets for the FY 15-16 school year
• The calculation of maintenance of effort, however, must reflect the school district's commitment to true capacity and maintain that capacity. The MOE calculation is complicated. The DOF shouldn't "low ball" the number for MOE based upon accounting anomalies - (i.e. a Basic Aid district's apportionment that is reduced by fair share hit, and that difference is backfilled by reserves or district general fund) - districts shouldn't be penalized.

The Governor's Proposal does NOT utilize existing Fiscal Infrastructure to Allocate Funds - Instead, We Propose a Perkins Model Distribution of Funding - CDE Allocation to K-12 Districts through Interagency Agreement w/ CCCO

• Ensures K12 adult education remains tied and accessible to the community we serve
• Maintains the autonomy of School Boards of Education
• Why reinvent the wheel - the structure already exists without adding to the bureaucracy and delays that could compromise a school district's receipt of funds to support maintaining its adult school
• Doesn't compromise local decision making through the regional consortia

While we support the concept of the Allocation Committee proposed by the Governor in that it ensures involvement of key community stakeholders serving adults, we do not believe the manner in which the Allocation Committee is structured is workable.

• It calls in to question the autonomy and governance of school boards and community college boards.
• Further, it suggest potential for encroachment of funding for non-Prop 98 entities when there isn't sufficient funding to cover access through the current Prop 98 providers.
• As an alternative, we propose that a Regional Control and Accountability Plan (RCAP) be developed within each consortium that provides for criteria that must be addressed in the planning and allocation decision-making process to ensure access is maintained, needs are met, and accountability is addressed. Such a model would include a metric to ensure / require regional stakeholder engagement as part of the planning and allocation process.

Immigration Reform and Adult Schools
K12 Adult Schools have always supported immigrant integration as a core mission.  Adult schools are often the first public institution immigrants interact with, offering flexibility and access, with roots deeply planted in immigrant communities.  As Comprehensive Integration Reform moves forward, adult schools will be instrumental in meeting the immigration requirements (educational and informational) of an estimated 3.1 million eligible Californians for whom federal reforms grant temporary relief from deportation.  Adult schools have always been agile enough to meet the needs of the immigrant community and can move quickly to ramp up programming to meet the need.

CCAE Leg Day Video