Thursday, June 4, 2006 | Volume 40 No 12

THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

Some California Schools in Same District Receive Double the Funding of Others, Bill Aims to Change That By Bo Tefu California Black Media

The measure would not reduce funding for According to California Department of Edu- cation data cited by Cortese, Palo Alto Unified School District spends about $29,876 per stu- dent annually, while nearby Milpitas Unified School District spends approximately $16,504 per student.

Similar disparities exist elsewhere in the state, including parts of Fresno and Kern counties. The proposal has drawn support from educa- tion advocates and labor leaders.

"The California School Employees Associa- tion proudly supports SCA 5 because every stu- dent deserves an equal opportunity to a quality public education no matter where they live," said Adam Weinberger, president of CSEA, which represents more than 250,000 classi- fied school employees statewide. "Classified school employees see every day how funding inequality puts some students at a disadvan- tage. This bill would help close that gap."

Dr. Lisa Andrew, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation -- whose organization is co-sponsoring the measure -- said the inequities are visible across communi-

State Sen. Dave Cortese (D-Silicon Valley) any district, alter Proposition 98 guarantees has introduced Senate Constitutional Amend- ment 5 (SCA 5), a proposal designed to nar- row longstanding funding disparities between California school districts, while securing the endorsement of the California School Em- ployees Association (CSEA), one of the state's largest education labor organizations.

Known as the Education Equalization Act, SCA 5 would ask California voters to amend the state Constitution to establish an Educa- tion Equalization Reserve Account dedicated to increasing per-pupil funding in historically underfunded "non-basic aid" school districts.

able."

for K-12 schools and community colleges, or raise taxes, according to Cortese's office.

If approved by two-thirds of the Legislature, the proposal would appear on a future state- wide ballot.

"California cannot continue accepting a pub- lic education system where a child's achieve ments and opportunities are determined by dra- matically unequal funding formulas," Cortese said. "Right now, some districts are provided nearly twice as much per student as neighbor- ing communities. That inequity is unaccept-

Letter to the Editor:

ties.

"Students just miles apart are receiving dra- matically different educations, not because of their potential, but because of their zip code," Andrew said. "We believe SCA 5 is the kind of bold, structural commitment California's stu- dents have long deserved."

Cortese said the amendment is ultimately about “fairness, educational opportunity, and California's economic future."

Campaign Rhetoric Vs Constitutional Reality-Calif. Governor Candidates Are Making Promises They Can't Keep

Craig J. DeLuz

Former Los Angeles mayor An- tonio Villaraigosa compared ICE officers to members of the Ku Klux Klan, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond

Some politicians believe making promised to have ICE agents ar- any promise loudly and confidently is an adequate substitute for only supporting proposals that are real- istic or implementable. California's gubernatorial race has produced a bumper crop of them. Tom Steyer, the billionaire liberal donor turned candidate, has called for abolishing ICE and jailing its agents, describing the federal law enforcement agency as a "violent extremist group."

rested.Former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra vowed to "police the immigration police."

These are all the leading candi- dates to become governor of the most populous state in the union.

One might ask: can they actually do any of this? The answer, rooted not in opinion but in two centuries of constitutional law, is no. And yet the question almost never gets asked; because the performance is the point.

Steyer's plan reads more like a campaign message than a govern- ing blueprint. That is not an acci- dent. Under the Supremacy Clause

By Craig J. DeLuz | California Black Media of Article VI of the U.S. Constitu- tion, and under longstanding Su- preme Court precedent, states may not criminally prosecute federal of- ficers for actions taken in the law- ful course of their federal duties, provided the officer reasonably be- lieved those actions were necessary to fulfill that duty. This is not an obscure technicality. It is the foun- dational architecture of American federalism, and it has been settled law for longer than most of these candidates have been alive.

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