State mandates finance transparency, community involvement
California schools are changing, not only in the way they teach but also in the way they’re funded. While schools implement Common Core, the state’s new instructional program, they are also getting ready to deal with the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), the latest attempt to equalize public school funding.
All of this will mean more money, but it demands more input from the schools’ stakeholders.
At the center of the new funding formula is the requirement that each school district develop a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) that will insure the money is spent as the state wishes and that each school district is “obtaining parent and public input in developing, revising, and updating the plan.”
The new funding plan will send more dollars to each school district and will augment those funds with additional help for students from low-income homes, English language learners, and students in foster care...