May 2023 Update
IB Coordinators, Teachers, Administrators, and Interested Parties
Robin Oliver, CAWS Executive Director
Gavin Payne, CAWS Strategic Advisor
Just a quick note on what is currently going on in Sacramento as the Legislature faces tight deadlines for action and as intense budget negotiations commence.
As we reported after the election, fully two thirds of members of the Assembly and Senate are new this year. For some (mostly veteran staff and advocates), that bodes chaos. For others it means fresh new ideas and energy. So far, as predicted, it is a bit of both.
Record numbers of bills passed their respective education committees and now await their fates in each house’s Appropriations Committee, where bills with significant spending implications face serious hurdles, especially in a year when revenues are down.
Appropriations Committees will act by May 19 th to pass or hold fiscal bills before them. The deadline for bills to pass out of their houses of origin is June 2nd.
As mentioned earlier, budget negotiations begin in earnest once the Governor releases his May
Revision of the 2023-24 budget, which he did last Friday. The state’s fiscal situation continues to worsen, but the Governor remains committed to providing a full 8.22 percent COLA for school districts.
There are a number of factors that will complicate budget negotiations, among which are: 1) accurate revenue estimates are difficult because tax filing deadlines were extended due to floods earlier this year; 2) the non-partisan Legislative Analyst posits that the Governor’s revenue numbers may be off by billions of dollars; 3) the Senate has released its version of the budget with substantially different priorities.
Please be assured we track budget, legislative, and administration activities closely on your behalf as the Executive Director of CAWS, and as your Strategic Advisor in Sacramento, with decades of experience in navigating state and local policy and budget decisions, we stand ready to answer your questions and address your concerns.
With Best Regards,
Robin and Gavin
GPC Advisors, LLC
((916) 290-3100 P.O. Box 14730
[email protected] San Luis Obispo, CA 93406