When the state issues a bond to pay part of the cost of constructing and remodeling schools, school districts are unsure when and how much funding will be available, or what rules will govern eligibility. We recommend that the state identify the average cost of providing educational facilities and provide a share of this amount to every school district as an annual, per-pupil, facilities grant. Our annual detailed examination of the Budget Bill based on the Governor's Budget. It includes over 400 findings and recommendations related to education, health and social services, criminal justice, transportation, resources, capital outlay, information technology, and local government. We recommend enactment of legislation aimed at addressing these deficiencies.
Many students arrive at public colleges in California unprepared for college-level courses.
In this report we recommend a multifaceted strategy to address this problem by assessing student preparedness earlier, improving accountability in precollegiate education, and funding precollegiate courses in a more equitable and effective manner. Realignment, enacted in 1991, transferred various mental health, health, and social services programs from the state to county control. It also altered program cost-sharing ratios, and provided counties with dedicated tax revenues to pay for these changes. Although realignment has been largely successful, we recommend implementation of several changes including a simplified allocation structure for new revenues that relies on a single formula. Our analysis indicates that no rational basis exists for setting Medi-Cal physician rates, and that current rates are lower than those paid by the federal Medicare Program and others.