By Dana Sternthal
News Editor
California Governor Jerry Brown and state lawmakers reached a compromise on Monday on Brown’s proposal to redistribute state funds to California schools, including providing each school district with $537 per student, increasing the Manhattan Beach Unified School District revenue by over $3 million.
While this compromise was reached, the state has yet to pass the bill into official state law. If the budget does pass on Saturday, the district will have to abide by any state requirements for the money. District Administrative Services would give recommendations on how to best utilize the new revenue in accordance with any state requirements, but the Manhattan Beach Unified Board of Trustees would have the final decision.
“Any increase in funding for schools would be a welcomed sight,” Deputy Superintendent of Administrative Services Dr. Rick Bagley said. “Even if there are some strings attached, at least we would be moving in the right direction with regard to our financial situation. The real beneficiaries will ultimately be our students, as increased revenues translate into better options for everyone.”
Costa English teacher Shawn Chen believes the additional revenue should go to raises in teacher salary and the reduction of class sizes.
“Getting our class sizes reduced is the most important thing to make us more competitive,” Chen said. “If our administrators truly want to see Costa delivering this competitive promise, they need to reduce class sizes in every subject area.”
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