Direct linkERIC Number: ED533186
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 3
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
More Freedom to Spend Less Money: What Happened when California School Districts Gained Spending Flexibility and Budgets Were Cut. Research Brief
Li, Jennifer
RAND Corporation
In 2009-2010, California made substantial education budget cuts at the same time that it removed its spending requirements from $4.5 billion of state money. This gave districts the flexibility to use the funds in any manner approved by the local school board. Researchers found that most of the formerly earmarked money was moved into general funds and that the changes did not disproportionately affect high-need students. Districts' top priorities in allocating the newly flexible funds were preserving fiscal solvency, retaining staff, and preserving current instructional programs. [This research brief describes work done by RAND Education documented in "Deregulating School Aid in California: How Districts Responded to Flexibility in Tier 3 Categorical Funds in 2010-2011," by Brian M. Stecher, Bruce Fuller, Tom Timar, and Julie A. Marsh and and "Deregulating School Aid in California: Revenues and Expenditures in the Second Year of Categorical Flexibility," by Jennifer Imazeki.]
Descriptors: State Government, Educational Finance, School Districts, Boards of Education, School District Autonomy, Budgets, Needs Assessment, Resource Allocation, Superintendents, Central Office Administrators, Decision Making, Expenditures, Elementary Secondary Education
RAND Corporation. P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138. Tel: 877-584-8642; Tel: 310-451-7002; Fax: 412-802-4981; e-mail: order@rand.org; Web site: http://www.rand.org
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: RAND Education; Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE)
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
