When voters approved Proposition 98 as an amendment to the California Constitution, they sought to guarantee public schools and community colleges a level of funding that would at least keep pace with growth in student population and the personal income of Californians and at best increase the amount schools receive. The calculation of the Proposition 98 minimum is based on the principle that K-14 education should receive at least the same amount as it did the previous year, adjusted for changes in enrollment and per capita personal income. The constitution allows state officials to temporarily reduce education funding below the minimum guarantee under two conditions. One is when state General Fund revenues grow less than personal income; the other is when two-thirds of the Legislature votes to suspend the guarantee for a given year. In both cases, the amount saved in that year must begin to be restored to the minimum guarantee level in the next year that state General Fund revenues grow faster than personal income. The Legislature always has the option of funding K-14 education above the minimum guarantee. When it does so, however, it also raises the base amount from which the guarantee is to be calculated the following year. (Contains 1 figure.)