Budget Subcommittee Chair Portantino Submits Funding Plan – Pasadena Now

State Senator Anthony J. Portantino closed out the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education last week with several important additions and ratifications to Gov. Jerry Browns recently released revised budget.

Among the highlights that Portantinos subcommittee added are a proposal to increase Cal Grants for community college students, to include additional funding for transportation and other costs associated with attending college; funding childcare; funding for After-School Education and Safety (ASES); increasing accountability and transparency at the University of California; and including funding for the Summer Institute for Emerging Managers and Leaders (SIEML) initiated by Portantino when he was in the State Assembly.

The SIEML institute is a summer program for undergraduate students from historically black colleges and Hispanic-serving institutes at the seven University of California Business Schools. The funding is intended to fund the school-based institute and bring accountability to the UC Office of the President to administer the program.

The subcommittee also accepted Gov. Browns proposal to create a continuous appropriation to the University of California Davis Cord Blood Collection Program. This is another successful program initiated by Portantino that is providing life-saving cord blood stem cells to Californias diverse population.

The subcommittee also included $16 million to implement an updated History-Social Science curriculum framework with guidelines for public school teachers, something that is of particular to the 25th Senate District as the study of the Armenian Genocide is one of the subject areas.

Another major step the subcommittee took is that is restored Cal Grants for nonprofit colleges. Gov. Brown had originally proposed to only partially fund Cal Grants for Latino students, then added some restrictions that would make it difficult for students at these schools. The Subcommittee approved full funding of the Cal Grants but rejected the strings attached to them.

The subcommittee also accepted the increase in the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF); implementation of the LCFF helps many of the school districts across the 25th Senate District and the San Gabriel Valley.

After proposing that Gov. Brown not defer nearly a billion dollars in Proposition 98 funding in the January budget, the subcommittee accepted the governors May revised plan to fully fund this money to K12 districts. It also deferred action to the full Senate Budget Committee Gov. Browns plan to add an additional billion dollars to K12 but make this money available only in 2019.

It is our subcommittees job to review the Governors plan for education in California and reject, approve or improve on his proposals, Portantino said. I was very pleased with the committees work and proud of my colleagues for preparing this plan for our students and families. From here our plan goes to the full Senate Budget Committee for deliberation and completion.

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Budget Subcommittee Chair Portantino Submits Funding Plan - Pasadena Now