About / Oct 09 / Crafting California's New School Finance

October 6, 2009
For immediate release

**UC Santa Barbara Gevirtz School’s fifth edition of its Policy Goes to School Series, Crafting California’s New School Finance, on Wednesday, November 11**

UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School, along with partners the California Teachers Association, the Santa Barbara Teachers Association, and the League of Women Voters of Santa Barbara, presents Crafting California’s New School Finance, on Wednesday, November 11, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm, Victoria Hall, 33 W. Victoria Street, Santa Barbara. California’s fiscal crisis has focused attention on the budget cuts public education faces. But the problem of how to finance the state’s schools equitably and efficiently runs much deeper than the current funding shortfall. At this free community symposium, policymakers and school finance experts will discuss the roots of the problem, and some possible remedies.

Featured panelists for the symposium include: Professor Jacob Adams (Claremont), California State Assemblywoman Julie Brownley, Professor Leo Estrada (UCLA), former California State Senator Gary Hart, Associate Executive Director of Governmental Relations for the California Teachers Association Joe Nuñez, Senior Policy Analyst for the Education Sector Robert Manwaring, Deputy Superintendent of the Santa Barbara School District Eric Smith, and Professor Jon Sonstelie (UCSB).

“Education funding in this state is so arcane that only a handful of people claim to understand it,” claims a recent Los Angeles Times editorial. “Sometimes it’s based on land values in the late 1970s, so that districts that were largely agricultural at the time receive less money even though they are built out or even urbanized now. Other school districts received dramatically more money for food programs that were later taken over by the federal government – and yet they continue to receive the extra sums to spend however they please.

“The harsh cuts to education spending this year have thrown a glaring light on these unfair funding gaps, which should persuade the Legislature to bring more logic to the equation.”

The event — the fifth in the Gevirtz School's Policy Goes to School Series — is free and open to the public, but space is limited. To reserve a space, contact Suzanne Oliver, Gevirtz School Director of Community Relations by November 4 at 805.893.2460 or soliver@education.ucsb.edu

[Suzanne Oliver is available for interviews; contact George Yatchisin at 805 893 5789]
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UC Santa Barbara Gevirtz School’s fifth edition of its Policy Goes to School Series, Crafting California’s New School Finance, on Wednesday, November 11

**UC Santa Barbara Gevirtz School’s fifth edition of its Policy Goes to School Series, Crafting California’s New School Finance, on Wednesday, November 11**