Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1537217
Keep Public Charter Funds With Students and Educators: YES on AB 84 I N T H E C O M I N G W E E K S , state legislators will be voting on two pieces of crucial legislation that will impact public school charters. We urge you to send a letter to your legislators to Vote NO on SB 414 and YES on AB 84! Assembly Bill 84 (Muratsuchi, D-66) addresses the issues that led to the 2019 A3 Education scandal, where nonprofit charter operator A3 Education defrauded the public of over $400 million. And just recently the State Auditor reported that Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools misused over $180 million of taxpayer funds. Thanks to the input of CTA members who work in charter schools, AB 84 also helps ensure that California's education dollars are spent on direct educational instruction and supports for students, and not on such things as wasteful no-bid contracts and out-of-state management company fees. Senate Bill 414 (Ashby, D-8) lets charter operators off the hook and only makes minor changes to the audit process without addressing loopholes in the system that allowed for fraud and abuse. It also gives charter schools immunity from most lawsuits. State Budget: Our Fight for Education Funding Continues I N L A T E J U N E , Gov. Gavin Newsom signed off on the final 2025â26 State budget. CTA President David Gold- berg issued a statement expressing disappointment with the inclusion of a funding maneuver that leaves schools vulnerable to lower funding next year and urged the gov- ernor and the Legislature to not delay payment of billions of dollars to California's public schools. " The budget signed by the governor includes a funding maneuver that re-routes and defers Prop. 98 dollars," Goldberg said. "We are disappointed at the continued attempts to manipulate Prop. 98 money constitutionally owed to schools. This opens the door to future reductions in education funding at a time when we need our schools to be safe and stable places for all." Prop. 98, passed in 1988, guarantees a minimum level of funding for public Kâ12 schools and community colleges each year. The law aims to stabilize education funding and ensure that schools receive a consistent level of support. "Attempts in this budget agreement to weaken the constitutional protections behind the Prop. 98 funding guarantee would harm public schools and likely lead to increased class sizes, teacher layoffs, cuts to librarians, counselors, nurses and other integral support staff," Gold- berg said. "We know that our schools and communities need more funding, not less. With the likelihood that the bud- get will be revisited later this year, we urge the governor and the Legislature to uphold the California constitution and adhere to the will of the voters and not delay pay- ment of billions of dollars to California's public schools." Read our full statement at cta.org/statebudget. Stay tuned for updates and more information about our school funding fight in the coming months. appropriate credentials. Additionally, we found that Twin Rivers and other oversight agencies did not pro- vide adequate oversight of Highlands." HCCTS is a nonprofit that operates the Highlands Community Charter School, where students learn in traditional classrooms, and the California Innovative Career Academy, which offers independent study under the Twin Rivers school district. In Fall 2024 HCCTS was serving 13,700 students age 22 and older and 700 staff at more than 50 locations across the state. 29 S U M M E R 2 0 2 5