Measure benefitting lower-income schools unfair
For many months, students and staff alike have been stressing about conserving resources and being eco-friendly in order to minimize costs. The school loses $36 per absent student daily, and as a result, enforcement of student attendance has grown more stringent.
Now PVPUSD students and teachers have another issue to worry about. On Jan. 10, California Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a plan that would benefit the low-income population. In the proposed plan, areas with more than half of its student population classified as low-income will receive a poverty “concentration” grant. However, Brown plans to pay for the program with the $1.8 billion the state owes school districts, including PVPUSD.
Even though Peninsula is in a wealthier community than many other schools in California, PVPUSD still faces many financial struggles. While Palos Verdes is certainly a wealthy community, its schools do not necessarily share the same affluence as some of the families on the hill; the need for financial aid is pervasive and persistent.
With Brown’s plan comes many flaws. He plans to increase funding for schools overall, while simultaneously promising to shift some money to the lower-income schools. If the money is to be reallocated to the needier schools, that money has to come from somewhere: that somewhere being from the so-called richer school districts.
“[It’s] stealing from one group to give to another,” European History AP teacher Don Frazier said. “There is not much left to cut. All I get from the school are markers, scantrons [and] paper.”
The correct way to close the disparity between higher and lower income schools is not to take money from ‘wealthier’ schools, who, in truth, are likewise facing their own financial problems and budget cuts as well.
Though Peninsula may be better off than other schools in California, it is still suffering from both the budget deficit and the cuts made throughout the years. For example, in the 2011-2012 school year, PVPUSD’s net change in fund balance was -$2,628,408. This decrease shows how much money PVPUSD has lost and its need for district-wide financial recovery. As each new school year starts, in California’s current position, the budget is being cut more and more. Now is not the time to remove money from our limited budget. Peninsula needs the maximum amount of money that can be allocated for its funds. This money can not be redistributed to other schools; its wealthy surroundings cannot be mistaken as the same as the school itself.
Peninsula, though seemingly well off, cannot afford to bear the burden of other schools. PVPUSD’s already-meager budget cannot afford to pay for other schools in lower-income neighborhoods. Though Palos Verdes is an affluent neighborhood, this does not directly correlate with its district’s financial budget.
Since schools with higher-income families would not be given as much state funding as those with lower incomes, it poses the question as to whether the money is truly being allocated fairly.
Other neighborhoods like the El Segundo area have businesses such as Chevron and Los Angeles International Airport that allow for more district funding. However, because of Peninsula’s seclusion from large corporations, it unfortunately has no way of receiving this type of grand-scale funding from its area.
Though it may appear that schools like those of PVPUSD are more endowed, one must realize that all schools in California are facing these similar budget problems.
This proposed solution does not help schools in less fortunate neighborhoods; instead, it takes money from schools with a seemingly large budget like ours. Everyone is suffering, so there is no need to take from the supposed rich. Brown should surely rethink his proposal.
