Governor Gavin Newsom released the May Revision to his proposed 2023-24 California state budget. The proposal estimated a $31 billion shortfall and although the state shows signs of being equipped to prepare for the deficit while avoiding cuts, this shortfall creates significant challenges for ongoing legislative, budgetary and community-led efforts.
As we all know, the budget is a reflection of our shared values and priorities as a whole. With that in mind, ABC urges the Governor to continue prioritizing California’s most vulnerable communities through dedicated public investments and not delay programs that save lives. To ensure a secure future, California must place a high priority on the health and wellness of low-income and systematically marginalized populations.
Diversity is our state’s strength. Over 200 languages are spoken in California and our diversity is growing across ethnic and racial groups with Latino/a, Asian Pacific Islanders and Black populations increasing over the last ten years. Latino/as currently make up the largest ethnic group in California at 39% of the state’s nearly 40 million residents and over 55% of California’s K-12 public education students are Latino/a. It is imperative that the state budget reflect the diverse needs of the population in order to ensure all Californians have an opportunity to thrive.
Highlights from the May Revision include:
Education
- Increase of $20 million to renew and extend the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program until 2028. Under this program, county offices of education and school districts offered college-level courses to prepare teachers to work in bilingual classrooms.
- Approximately $762 million for 2023-24 costs to expand TK access. Of this total, roughly $597 million will support expanded eligibility and $165 million will support one additional certificated or classified staff person in TK classrooms.
- Additional $6 million to the Golden State Teacher Grant Program, which offers up to $20,000 to a teacher candidate who commits to working in a priority school for four years. The funds will support grants to teacher candidates enrolled in a special education teacher preparation program who agree to teach at a high-needs school site.
- Commitment to expand dual enrollment and $100 million for enrollment and retention efforts at community colleges. Although the Governor’s proposal to increase the number of dual enrollment agreements is a step in the right direction, a state-wide dual enrollment strategy that puts a priority on equal access and ensures course transferability is still required.
- Investments of $450 million for this year and another $95.4 million next year for student housing for affordable housing projects at the community colleges.
- Additional $1.5 billion one-time Proposition 98 General Fund to expand access to the community schools grants to every eligible local educational agency that opts to apply on behalf of its high-need schools.
Addressing Climate Change
- Approximately $1.8 billion one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for schools to address outstanding school facility maintenance issues such as upgrading and/or replacing inefficient and outdated cooling, heating, water, and other energy and resource systems to create greener educational spaces.
- Continued commitment of $220 million over two years to support cooling of communities at schools and through resilience centers.
- Continued commitment of $20 million to increase understanding of the risks posed by extreme heat and what resources are available to keep communities safe through a public awareness and outreach campaign.
Health
- Continued commitment to provide undocumented immigrants ages 26 to 49 full-scope Medi-Cal eligibility on January 1, 2024.
- An allocation of $290 million General Fund one-time investments to implement a multi-pronged approach to address the urgent youth mental health crisis which includes:
- $50 million to provide grants to pilot school and community-based crisis response and supports following a youth suicide or youth suicide attempt;
- $85 million over two years for grants for wellness and mindfulness programs in schools and communities and expansion of parent support and training programs;
- $25 million to identify and support the early career development of 2,500 highly talented and culturally diverse high school students interested in mental health careers.
Economic Prosperity:
- A $500 million one-time General Fund in 2022-23 for the California Small Business Hard-Hit Industries Grant Program to provide additional relief to those small businesses most affected by the pandemic.
- A $75 million one-time General Fund in 2022-23 for the California Small Agricultural Business Drought Relief Grant Program to provide direct assistance to eligible agriculture-related businesses that have been affected by severe drought conditions.
- Restoration of $49.8 million General Fund over four years for various public health workforce training and development programs.
- An increase of $45 million one-time Proposition 98 General Fund to support the implementation of the California Healthy School Meals Pathway Program, a pre-apprenticeship,apprenticeship, and fellowship workforce training pipeline pilot program for school food service workers.
- Allocation of $17 million General Fund over two years to the California Workforce Development Board to expand high road training partnerships in industry sectors that support the state’s response to extreme heat.