Why California Spends Hundreds of Billions of Dollars on K–12 Education Without Getting Results

In recent years, California has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on K–12 education, and the governor’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year maintains such numbers—but despite the state’s high education spending, reports show that its children are still struggling academically.

The state’s funding reached a record-high $110.6 billion for the 2021–22 fiscal year and $110.4 billion for the current fiscal year. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently revised May budget (pdf) proposal promises $106.8 billion to the state’s schools.

The numbers translate to the state spending, on average, $20,000 per pupil in 2021–22, and likely $17,000, on average, in the upcoming fiscal year, according to an April analysis (pdf) by the state’s Legislative Analyst Office.

While not the highest in the nation, California’s per-pupil spending has also in recent years trended slightly higher than the national average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, while its test scores have largely been below.

A 2023 report by the California County Scorecard of Children’s Well-Being estimated that roughly two-thirds of the state’s 13.5 million children failed to meet national math and science standards—about a 7 percent drop from pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, 57 percent can’t read at their grade levels, according to the report.

Experts say part of the problem is how districts spend state funds.

Mari Barke, an Orange County Board of Education trustee and education policy expert, said most of the funding given to districts does not go directly to students.

“I believe only about 10 to 15 percent actually goes to educating students,” Barke told The Epoch Times in an email. “Unfortunately, most of the dollars go to administration.”

A 2021 report by the Public Policy Institute of California reported that roughly 80 percent of the current state K–12 funds goes to staff salaries and benefits.

Some say a 2013 state Assembly Bill that more than doubled district contributions to staff pensions is partly to blame.

Additionally, many staff unions have negotiated higher pay and benefits with their districts.

“Mounting cost pressures may affect school districts’ ability to translate greater funding into improved resources and services for students,” the policy institute report said.

Another report, also from 2021 by the state’s legislative analyst, estimates that districts’ contributions to pensions grew from 17 percent in 2019–20 to an expected 19 percent in 2023–24.

Barke, the Orange County Board of Education trustee, said a lack of merit-based pay in unionized schools has led to undesirable academic outcomes.

“When there is no incentive attached to teacher performance, you don’t always see the best results,” she said. “We have many exceptional teachers in California, but not all of them are putting students first, especially those that are strong union members.”

Barke said she thinks competition can motivate schools to improve academic scores.

“If we allow the money to truly follow [where the student goes] … I believe our results would be much different,” she said. “We would have schools competing for that money.”

Additionally, Barke said something like an education savings account, which her colleagues at the California Policy Center unsuccessfully proposed in 2021, might drive school competition.

In 2021, the California Policy Center collaborated with the Californians for School Choice’s coalition to draft a failed ballot initiative allowing parents to opt their children into a state-funded savings account with more than $10,000 per year to use on the education of their choice—including private, charter, or homeschooling.

Lance Christensen, the center’s vice president of education policy and government affairs, was involved in drafting the ballot initiative. He additionally ran unsuccessfully for state superintendent of public instruction in 2022.

He told The Epoch Times that he thought what really drove student success was parent involvement.

“When parents are involved in their kids’ lives, the [kids] are going to have a better education,” he said.

As such, Christensen said he would like to see the state implement policies that give the parent more choice and autonomy over their child’s education.

“Where parents can be more involved . . . the student is going to achieve better,” he said.