For Immediate Release
CALSSD Responds to Final Budget Package for Fiscal Year 2022-23
Sacramento – Following approval of the final budget package for Fiscal Year 2022-23, the California Association of Suburban School Districts (CALSSD) issued the following statement which is attributed to Dr. Sara Noguchi, Superintendent of Modesto City Schools, the lead district for CALSSD.
“We commend the legislature and Governor for the budget package enacted today. This historic level of funding is vital to districts to continue efforts to address the impact of the pandemic, accelerate student learning, and support students’ social emotional growth and development. The increase to the LCFF Base Grant is a critically important investment because it will allow districts to sustain critical functions, programs, and staffing for the long term.
“Suburban district leaders also deeply appreciate the adjustments and funding flexibility to navigate declining enrollment and the drastic drop in attendance due to the COVID variants in the 2021-22 school year.
The block grants will provide crucial support to address the impacts of COVID-19 and provide much needed Music, Arts, Instructional Materials and professional learning. These programs and services are of immense value to student’s academic, social emotional learning and well-being.
“The new allocation methodology and increase in funding for home to school transportation is also extremely welcome. Establishing dedicated funding school transportation has been a long-standing priority for suburban school districts and will enable us to dedicate our LCFF funding directly into classroom needs.
“Finally, the historic direct investment for school construction and modernization, along with the grant program for TK, are important to all districts and will foster stability as districts plan for the future. We will continue to advocate for additional funds which are needed for school modernization and construction and for funds to meet the demand for TK facilities, as expansion of TK advances.”
Suburban schools serve a diverse student population of 2.6 million students in California. CALSSD is a statewide coalition of districts that advocates for policies and funding to improve education for students in suburban schools.
For more information, contact Andrea Ball at andrea@ballfrostgroup.com.
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