SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Courtni Pugh issued the following statement on today’s adoption of the State Board of Education’s “Local Control Funding Formula” regulations:
“The cafeteria workers, teaching assistants, custodians, bus drivers, and other education workers of SEIU Local 99 applaud the Governor and the State Board of Education in their efforts to defend the basic civil right of every child to receive a quality education in a safe, healthy, and supportive environment—one that recognizes their needs both inside and outside of the classroom.
“From the U.S. Supreme Court to School Boards across the country, decades of rulings have sought to ensure equal investment in the education and future of every child. But inequity persists and achievement gaps widen. Nearly half of our members are parents or guardians for school-age children. They also are among the lowest paid employees in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Their children often come from low-income households. These are the students that Governor Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula will serve. This is a giant step toward repairing generations of disinvestment in our children. We urge it also end poverty for school employee families.
“The LCFF brings such an important influx of investment for disadvantaged students. Throughout the deliberations on how to best implement LCFF, we reminded the State Board of Education that although their educational needs may vary, all students must have basic support services to be successful. The new funds also give districts a chance to ensure that education jobs are not poverty jobs.
“We believe that the regulations introduced today will effectively guide school districts as they seek to ensure that LCFF invests in our neediest students without disrupting current programs and services that benefit all children. Specifically, we applaud the Board’s decisions to:
- Allow districts and individual schools to continue funding essential services that meet the needs of both disadvantaged students and all other students, such as clean classrooms, sanitary restrooms, healthy meals, safe and on-time bus rides, support in the classroom, safe playgrounds, up-to-date technology, and school advocates who connect with their parents;
- Give districts the flexibility to fund existing programs so that students don’t see reduced services;
- Implement a spending target formula that allows school districts to phase-in their spending of supplemental and concentration grants as they are funded over time.”
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SEIU Local 99 is a union of nearly 45,000 education workers who provide services essential to student learning in K-12 schools, early education centers and homes, administrative offices, and community colleges throughout Southern California, including teacher aides, custodians, cafeteria workers, gardeners, bus drivers, child care providers, Head Start teachers, and others dedicated to serving the whole child. Nearly 50% of SEIU Local 99 members are also parents or guardians of school-age or preschool-age children.
Contact: Blanca Gallegos 213-387-8393 ext. 219; 213-500-9594
