22 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY APRIL 23-29, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com the district financially so we can continue serving students not just this year, but for years to come,” PGUSD Superintendent Linda Adamson said. Jorn added it was important to seek long-term savings. “Why now?” he asked the board. “There is budget uncertainty that’s occurring on the federal side.” Schools are funded with a combination of state, local and federal resources. While all school districts receive funding from these three sources, not all pieces of the pie are distributed equally. The U.S. Department of Education contributes roughly 8 percent of the funding for K-12 education nationwide, supporting various programs such as special education, teacher training, English instruction and low-income students. Other federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, fund Head Start, an early childhood education program for kids under 5, and school lunch programs, respectively. Last year, the federal government invested $78.8 billion in education. The proposed budget for this year, released on April 3, requests $76.5 billion for education, $2.3 billion less than the 2025-2026 allocation. “The budget continues the Department of Education’s path to elimination,” the proposed budget report states. (In 2025, President Donald Trump officially moved forward with the elimination of the department.) In California, the state funds up to 60 percent of education for transitional kindergarten-grade 12. The state’s proposed budget for the upcoming year would increase TK-12 education funding by $11.5 billion, from $137.6 billion in 2025-26 to $149.1 billion in 2026-27. State funds support various programs, such as transitional kindergarten, special education and supplements districts’ budgets when property taxes are insufficient to ensure the minimum funding level. The funding is calculated using the Local Control Funding Formula, a method the state uses to calculate funding for all school districts; besides supplying base funding, it also provides additional resources for those with high-need students, low-income, foster care and English learners. School districts in California are divided into two groups. One model is community-funded districts, which are primarily funded via property taxes. The other is state-funded districts, which rely on a mix of state funds and property taxes. School districts can’t choose between one or the other when a district’s property tax revenue exceeds what it would receive under the LCFF formula. For state-funded districts, students’ daily attendance is a crucial factor to calculate the amount of money they receive from the state. Declining enrollment and chronic absenteeism mean less revenue. (California is one the few states that allocates funding based on average daily attendance). Chronic absenteeism is pervasive among schools with a high number of low-income students and those without permanent housing. The Local Control Funding Formula provided base and supplemental funding based on each district’s average daily attendance. Schools with high numbers of English learners, foster youth and low-income students receive additional funding. Monterey County currently has two community-funded districts, Carmel Unified and Pacific Grove Unified, with property taxes that exceed state funding minimums. In general, community-funded districts spend more money per student and pay teachers higher salaries and might have smaller class sizes. During the 2024-2025 school year, community-funded districts Carmel and P.G. spent $34,438 and $22,891 per student, while state-funded districts MPUSD and Salinas City Elementary spent $14,351 and $14,382, respectively. In the 2024-2025 school year, entry-level teachers at CUSD were paid $78,959 annually; at SCESD, it was $60,664 in 2025-2026. Next school year, Washington Union will join Carmel and P.G., transitioning to a property tax-based model (and shrinking in student body). Since 2010, WUSD has experienced a sharp decline in enrollment, losing 176 students over the decade, and has faced deficit projections. They will end the practice of accepting transfers from outside the district’s geographic boundaries. “It’s a very difficult decision. Obviously, it has huge impacts on our school community, but if we’re going to be able to sustain this district financially over the long term, it was a necessary step,” WUSD Superintendent Gina Uccelli says. “We are fortunate in that we have a higher property tax value, so we were able to explore a different option.” Not all districts can switch from one model to the other. The LCFF was implemented in 2013 to increase equity among school districts and provide additional resources to high-need students. While school districts with lower property taxes can benefit from LCFF, obtaining additional funding if they serve high-need students such as those in foster care, who are low-income or English learners, a funding gap persists between the two models. MPUSD Superintendent PK Diffenbaugh says Proposition 13, which voters passed in 1978 and limits property tax increases in California, was a game-changer for public education— for the worse. California was formerly in the top five when it came to funding per pupil. During the 2022-2023 school year, it ranked 13th nationally. (Prop. 13 keeps property taxes fixed until an ownership transfer takes place.) “We were the envy of the nation,” Diffenbaugh says. “It has created a very challenging tax system in terms of public schools being able to count on a certain amount of funding every year.” He’s referring to uncertainty in income and sales taxes compared to property taxes plus the fluctuating revenue districts receive based on attendance. He and many experts would prefer a model based on enrollment, not actual attendance. Diffenbaugh wishes there were more stable, sustainable funding in general. One-time funding, he says, is frustrating and leaves districts in limbo. “When there are good times, it’s often given to you with an expiration date and says, ‘Great, build something great in five years and then figure out how to keep it going without the money,’” Diffenbaugh adds. He’d also like to see more unrestricted funding that districts can spend as needed, rather than for specific purposes dictated by the state, such as after-school programs, transportation or teacher preparation “Giving school districts flexibility to spend funds based on their local context and priorities is the best way to go, because we’re closest to the work and Eloina Trujillo teaches students in need of additional intervention in Salinas City Elementary School District. The number of special ed students continues to rise, increasing cost pressures. Teacher Samuel Swanson diversifies his lessons to fit the needs of his students, whose skill levels range from kindergarten to college level. DANIEL DREIFUSS CELIA JIMÉNEZ
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