Zócalo's Connecting California
Kids get shortchanged on state education funding
California has an impossibly complex system for spending on public education. But Joe Mathews says all the effort that goes into creating an even playing field masks a simple fact: there isn’t enough money to go around.
By Joe Mathews • • 4m ListenCalifornia spends tens of billions of dollars a year on K-12 education, about 40 percent of the overall state budget. Over the years, layers of bureaucracy have been established to make sure that money is allocated fairly. It still isn't working, however. Joe Mathews says the answer isn't government mandates, it's money. He says under-funding of public education in the state is evident in the explosion of charter schools and cutthroat competition to get into magnet schools.