As Santa Ana Unified School District prepares for a boost in state funds, parents and community members will have a chance to weigh in on how they want to see it spent.
A series of “parent and community input sessions” are being held by the district to gather comments on its goals for extra spending under the “local control funding formula” or LCFF.
This week’s meetings are being held Wednesday through Friday at middle schools: Villa Fundamental, McFadden and Spurgeon.
Another 15 sessions are scheduled through mid-April.
(Click here to read the full schedule.)
The new law boosts state funding for districts with high rates of students who are in low-income families, are learning English or are foster youth.
LCFF, which starts in the fiscal year starting July 1, is considered the biggest change to California’s education funding in decades.
Central to the plan is each district’s “local control and accountability plan,” which will outline how they’ll meet certain goals.
Parent and community involvement is considered key to the plan’s success.
The advocacy group Children Now has a rundown of LCFF and how parents can advocate for their children through the plan.
Under LCFF, Santa Ana Unified is expected to get about $37 million in extra funding this coming fiscal year — a 10 percent boost in state funds compared to last fiscal year.
Two years later, that amount is projected to grow to an extra $84 million.
Under state law, the accountability plans set goals for the next three years and must be updated annually.
You can read the full schedule for input sessions by clicking here.
Curious what else is happening this week? Click here to check out our rundown at On the Agenda.
Please contact Nick Gerda directly at ngerda@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: @nicholasgerda.