Fiscal Emergency Confronts California's Public Schools

SACRAMENTO (KCBS) - California's public school year is getting shorter and shorter, while classrooms are increasingly crowded. That's the finding of a new state study, predicting even deeper financial troubles for the schools if Gov. Jerry Brown's budget plan is approved.

KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:

Nearly 60% of K-12 school districts have shortened their instructional year by at least one day from the old "standard" of 180 days, which is three times more than did last year, warned Jim Soland, co-author of the report for the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.

"We saw about 30% of districts that responded saying they were going to reduce the school year to 175 days," he explained. "Which is the new minimum allowed under state law, so certainly school districts are taking advantage of that."

Class sizes have grown by three to five students, depending on the grade.

The state has also been deferring education money, giving schools less one year while promising to make up for it the next. Now, Gov. Brown wants to defer another $2 billion in education funding.

Soland believes some school districts would be able to borrow the money to fill their gaps, while others will simply cut programs.

"About 20% of school districts said that they treated them as cuts. We see that number increase to 50% of districts when you're talking about a new deferral in the coming year," Soland said.

He recommends giving schools more flexibility in terms of how they can use the money they do receive from the state.

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