CTA believes the state and federal government should provide sufficient funding for public education to ensure all schools can provide a high-quality education and serve the needs of all students. CTA further believes funding for public education is an absolute obligation.

PreK through K12 funding:

• CTA believes the state must provide funding that moves California to the average of the top ten states in per pupil funding.
• CTA believes Proposition 98 should be a floor and not a ceiling for education funding.
• CTA believes we must protect the integrity of Proposition 98. CTA opposes any encroachment from non-Proposition 98 programs into the Proposition 98 side of the budget. CTA opposes any action which would reduce the Proposition 98 funding level.
• CTA believes that Proposition 98 should be protected from reductions through the creation of new or existing tax credits and giveaways that do not provide clear economic benefits to California, including public education. CTA further believes that existing tax credits should be carefully reexamined and repealed where there has not been a benefit to the California economy and public education.
• CTA believes that the Local Control Funding Formula should be continuously appropriated to ensure the flow of education dollars to California’s public schools without disruption.
• CTA believes that the Local Control Funding Formula base grant should be increased beyond COLA and should utilize benchmarks to increase the LCFF base grant over time.
• CTA continues to support supplemental and concentration grants to meet the unique needs of California students.
• CTA opposes any policy changes to the LCFF that would require the State Board of Education to modify regulations related to allowable LCFF expenditures. Additionally, CTA believes any policy changes should be vetted through the Legislative policy committees.
• CTA supports additional funding to the California State Teachers’ Retirement System through additional non-Proposition 98 General Fund to reduce district’s contributions. CTA supports maintaining the integrity and implementation of AB 1469 (Chapter 47, Statutes of 2014), which provided a long-term funding plan for CalSTRS.
• CTA supports increasing funding for special education. CTA believes providing adequate funding to special education to fully fund the cost of special education is needed to support increased student needs and costs. Existing state and federal mandates for special education should be funded fully before adding new program requirements or incentives.
• CTA supports maintaining the LCFF and providing, at a minimum, the statutory COLA for the LCFF.
• CTA supports, at a minimum, providing the statutory COLA on the remaining K-12 education categorical programs.
• CTA supports investing in educator retention and recruitment in order to address the state’s educator shortage, especially in chronic shortage areas.
• CTA supports investing in educator retention and recruitment in order to address the state’s educator shortage, especially in chronic shortage areas.
• CTA supports investing in professional development to address the needs of educators and staff.
• CTA believes schools should be protected from reductions in funding during emergencies, including wildfires, pandemics, and other natural disasters, in order to maintain services and support for students and staff. CTA believes any changes to attendance-based funding should be carefully considered and include a hold harmless for all local educational agencies.
• CTA believes Career and Technical Education funding should continue to be a priority and should be administered by the Department of Education.
• CTA supports community schools. However, funding for community schools for activities not customarily part of instruction should be paid for by non-Proposition 98 funding.
• CTA supports additional funding to support the needs of students, educators, and staff during the COVID-19 crisis, including technology, mental health, school nurses and counseling.
• One-time funding should be allocated equitably and made as flexible as possible to provide local educational agencies with discretion in addressing their unique needs.
• CTA supports expanding access to Transitional Kindergarten (TK), if implemented equitably and the appropriate resources are provided. CTA believes TK cannot be expanded within existing resources. CTA supports the “rebenching” of the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee to accommodate the expansion of TK.
• CTA believes school facilities should be funded with non-Proposition 98 funding.
• CTA supports extending COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave benefits for all employees, including school staff.
• CTA supports additional funding to adequately fund school transportation.
• CTA supports maintaining the funding commitment to provide universal access to subsidized meals in schools.

Adult Education Funding:

• CTA supports the principle that all adult students should have access to fully funded adult education curriculum and programs.
• CTA supports at a minimum providing the statutory COLA for the Adult Education Program.

Community College Association 2022-23 Budget Principles:

CTA believes in the goals established in the Master Plan for Higher Education that the state should provide adequate funds for community colleges to fulfill the goals of both student access and a quality education and should provide necessary resources to meet the needs of all students who attend community colleges. CTA further believes adequate funding for public higher education is a necessity.

Community College Funding:

• CTA believes that the state should provide adequate funding for community colleges to ensure access to a tuition-free community college education for all students.
• CTA believes that Proposition 98 should be a floor and not a ceiling for education funding.
• CTA believes that we must protect the integrity of Proposition 98 and that we must support and monitor the Proposition 98 guarantee certification process to ensure it is properly implemented.
• CTA opposes any encroachment from non-Proposition 98 programs into the Proposition 98 side of the budget. CTA opposes any action which would reduce the Proposition 98 funding level.
• CTA believes that Proposition 98 should be protected from the reductions that occur when tax credits and giveaways are created that do not provide clear economic benefits to California. Existing tax credits that harm Proposition 98 and thus reduce PreK-14 funding should be carefully reexamined and repealed where there has not been a benefit to the California economy and public education.
• CTA believes that PreK-12 school districts and local community colleges are best suited to provide vocational instruction to the workforce in their communities. Statewide community college districts such as Calbright should be carefully monitored and only supported if they clearly provide a cost-effective benefit to the unique needs of underemployed Californians.
• CTA supports additional funding to the California State Teachers’ Retirement System through non-Proposition 98 General Fund allocations in order to reduce community colleges’ contributions. CTA supports maintaining the integrity and implementation of AB 1469 (Chapter 47, Statutes of 2014), which provided a long-term funding plan for CalSTRS.
• CTA supports increased funding for part-time faculty support. Specifically, CTA supports additional funding to provide pay and benefit parity for part-time faculty, including office hours, professional development, health insurance, and other supports.
• CTA supports increasing the base allocation for community colleges.
• CTA opposes funding based on completion metrics of any sort.
• CTA supports providing additional resources to low-income students, including CalGrants and emergency student financial assistance.
• CTA supports investing in efforts to bolster enrollment and retention rates for community college students.
• CTA supports at a minimum providing the statutory COLA on apportionments and all categorical programs.
• CTA supports increased funding for enrollment growth.
• CTA supports increasing the number of and diversity of full-time faculty to meet and exceed the 75/25 percent full-time faculty provisions of AB 1725.
• CTA supports investing in professional development for faculty.
• CTA supports additional funding to support the success of students and faculty, including tutoring, technology, technology support, counseling, mental health, and other supports.
• CTA supports the allocation of additional Proposition 51 bond funds to support eligible construction projects at community colleges.
• CTA supports extending COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave benefits for all employees, including community college faculty (full-time and part-time) and staff.