California’s public school system, which once led the nation in education, now stands near the bottom of the list. Our schools are failing and approximately one out of every four students drops out before finishing high school, according to the California Department of Education (CDE).
In many parts of the state, schools have drastically deteriorated from trying to meet the needs of a rapidly growing immigration-driven, non-English speaking student population.
While enrollment in California schools is leveling off and even declining in some areas according to the CDE, the percentage of Hispanic students continues to grow and is expected to form the majority by 2009-10. More than 41 percent of kindergartners were English learners in 2007-08, and about 85% of the English learners speak Spanish.
Based on the latest data available, K-12 education accounted for the largest share of California’s budget—39.5 percent of General Fund expenditures in 2006-07.1 As a result of the current budget crisis, Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed reducing funding for California’s school districts by $4.4 billion. Even with these cuts, the governor’s proposed budget provides per–pupil funding (PPF) of $11,626 for 2008-09.2
The number of illegal immigrant students filling California’s classrooms is unknown; however, even if it’s a small fraction of our current population of over 38 million,3 the costs are in the billions of dollars.
No comments:
Post a Comment