I don’t believe that CA K-12 public schools are adequately funded nor or our public colleges and universities. The Legislature currently allocates general purpose funding for K-12 schools based on enrollment and designated or “categorical” funding based on a variety of formulas that are outdated and may not reflect the actual cost of providing specific services or achieving program goals. The current formulas represent decades of legislation that most often do not respond to the changes in the distribution of our state’s population, student demographics, or underlying cost structures. As a priority, the legislature needs to stabilize the public financing of public education which includes through budget reform by modernizing our state revenue systems in order to provide the necessary funding to bring CA in the top quartile of states. In addition, the legislature needs to push for greater flexibility with categorical dollars from the federal government. A review of all tax loop holes and incentives needs to be reviewed to determine whether or not we are achieving our highest general benefit to minimize the restriction on state revenue streams. We should also consider a multi year budget process similar to that used by local districts and establish strategic priorities including allocating dollars for facility needs. I believe this would make public education less vulnerable to the political posturing in light of legislative terms limits. It would most certainly minimize the uncertainty in school funding which was the original intent of Proposition 98. The cost of providing a quality education varies throughout the state based on student characteristics and labor market conditions. The current funding formulas fail to take differences in costs such as housing, and other necessities that vary significantly around the state and have direct implications for school operating costs and salary structures. Thus, the conversation should just as much focus also on how we allocate funding. Any reform that is considered must avoid exacerbating disparities between low- and high-wealth schools, and should also reflect the differing needs of individual districts and provide incentives for districts that successfully meet academic improvement goals and other standards.