Categorical spending questioned

02-07-2011

Blog by John Fensterwald/Educated Guess

Gov. Jerry Brown generally favors giving school districts more control to spend state dollars as they choose – the same position as his predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. In his new state budget, Brown is proposing to extend temporary control that the Legislature gave districts over some previously earmarked money for two more years, through 2014-15. But deregulation comes with an obligation of transparency. Districts should tell the public and report back to the Legislature on how they spent the money, much of which was supposed to be targeted to poor children. That hasn’t happened, according to the advocacy group Public Advocates. Although the Legislature required districts to hold separate public hearings on how money for the “categorical” programs would be used and to do accountability reports to the state, the Department of Education let them off the hook with an advisory letter in 2009. The Department said that districts didn’t have to do either step. In budget hearings today, Public Advocates will ask the Legislature to insist that districts follow the law. (more...)

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