The way public schools are funded in California may soon change. The governor is proposing a new formula to award more money to schools with low-income and non-English speaking students.
It's a $16 billion plan in which dozens of Kern County Schools stand to benefit. It will simplify the ways schools get money by eliminating special funding programs.
"I think it's really a step in the right direction," said Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Christine Lizardi Frazier.
For decades, California schools have been funded the same way, but not everyone agrees with this system.
"The idea that the current funding model has been inadequate has been known for some time," said Michael Coleman, Superintendent of the Fairfax School District.
That's because funding has been complicated and unequal. Some schools get less and some get more based on your district's property values.
"If you are one of the districts that has a lot of oil companies, then they're going to have a lot of value in that land and a lot of money for kids," said Coleman.
Currently, each school gets a base rate plus money they receive for certain programs and categories. Governor Jerry Brown wants to do away with that model and give each school a base rate plus a percentage for every student that is low-income or learning the English language.
"Kern County has a lot of kids that fall below the poverty line, so this will be very beneficial to most of the schools in Kern County," said Lizardi Frazier.
This includes Fairfax School District where 90 percent of students are offered free and reduced lunches.
"What we could do with more money is bring back programs we had to do away with, but that everyone expects," said Coleman.
Under this plan, no school no matter how high their funding will not get less money. So what's the problem? The program's estimated cost is $16 billion, but the state only has $1.6 billion.
"They don't have the funding, but it starts the conversation. So, maybe they'll have it in ten years. That's fantastic," said Coleman.
Governor Brown proposed something similar last year, but didn't get the votes to pass the plan in the budget.
