Heather Rose studies the effects of school finance systems,
accountability programs, and governance structures on the
distribution of school resources, student outcomes and
achievement gaps.
Rose has also served as an Adjunct Policy Fellow for the Public
Policy Institute of California since 2008. She received her
degree in Economics from UC San Diego in 2001.
COVID-19 has created a $54 billion budget deficit for California. This has significant implications for K-12 school districts. It also has the potential to harm high-poverty districts more severely. To balance the budget while averting draconian education cuts, the state’s recently enacted 2020-21 budget defers nearly $11 billion of school district state aid. This forces districts to borrow in order to maintain staffing and educational programs.
In July 2013, California Governor Jerry Brown overhauled the
state’s school finance system, which has long been criticized for
its complexity and failure to meet student needs. The prior
system generally did provide more revenues to districts serving
many disadvantaged students, but the new Local Control Funding
Formula (LCFF) dramatically increases the state’s investment in
those districts, and creates a more transparent and
equitable school finance system.
In this October 2012 seminar, faculty affiliate Heather Rose
describes California’s school finance system, focusing on the
resource disparities between schools serving affluent and
economically disadvantaged students.
