SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Teachers Association is concerned Gov. Gavin Newsom's May budget revise will impact classrooms for years to come. They believe the budget would cut funding to education.
"It's an assault on public school funding," said CTA President David Goldberg. "The governor outlined his intentions to implement an unconstitutional maneuver with our guaranteed public education funding."
The guaranteed public education funding Goldberg is referring to is Proposition 98, passed by voters in 1988. It was intended to increase state funding for K-12 schools and community colleges.
"This deeming maneuver reduces a Prop 98 guarantee by nearly $12 billion," said Goldberg.
Newsom addressed the concerns last week.
"I don't want to see thousands and thousands of pink slips go up. I don't want to see the disruption in the system," said Newsom. "But we respectfully disagree with that position."
Meanwhile, the Legislative Analyst's Office says the governor's budget actually addresses an estimated $55 billion deficit, larger than the $27.6 billion he discussed last week. The nonpartisan policy advisor says the May revise actually helped close the deficit with adjustments made to education.
All of this is happening while the governor is in Italy to discuss climate-related issues. The trip is paid for by the California Protocol Foundation, a nonprofit that gets its funding through donations. It's unclear how much this trip will cost.
A spokesperson with the governor's office says the trip is not a taxpayer expense.
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