WHY THE NEED?
In a nutshell, the state doesn’t provide enough funds per pupil to provide Belmont-Redwood Shores students with a wellrounded education. Property taxes don’t adequately fund exceptional education. We live in an area with a highly educated work-force and fierce competition for quality jobs, yet our schools are funded at nearly the lowest level in the nation. State funding provides only $8,587 per BRSSD student – one of the lowest per-pupil funding in San Mateo County – and well below the statewide average of $9,987. Furthermore, California ranks 46th in the nation for per-pupil funding*!
Over the past 13 years, BRSSD’s student population has grown by 80% and hoovered at a steadily high level, yet per-student funding has actually declined. Current funding covers only minimal core academic requirements. State funding does not deliver a well-rounded, robust learning environment that includes science, libraries, social and emotional support, music, art, or help for kids who need academic intervention.
Today, state funding pays for approximately 82% of what we need to educate our children. The rest comes from a local parcel tax and from your donations to SchoolForce.
*Source: edsource.org
Watch this 3-minute video to learn about why SchoolForce is needed, and how donations to SchoolForce benefit our students.
For more information, visit SchoolForce.org/donate.
BRSSD FUNDING SOURCES
Since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, property tax increases were capped causing funding to public schools to dwindle. Approximately 40% of all property tax paid goes to education. These funds are then divided between UCs, CSUs, community colleges, high school districts, and our local TK-8 district (BRSSD). For rough example purposes, if you have a property valuation of $1M, $4000 would be added to the education pot. Of this, only about $2000 would come back to BRSSD to fund education. This is a simplified example of state property tax allocation but gives one a general sense of the dollar allotment versus the paid amount.
The state budget consists not only of property tax, but also of corporate taxes, income taxes and sales tax. Each year the state determines a baseline funding amount based upon its budget for educating a child. This formula severely under-funds public education in Belmont-Redwood Shores and thus, in order to keep high quality education in our community, additional funding is needed.
HOW STATE FUNDING IS ALLOCATED
2020-2021 California Budget
Spending
$132.9 Billion
Revenue
$131.3 Billion
Source: budgetchallenge.org
California Budget May 2020 Revise