The new aid, known as short-term or workforce Pell Grants, expands the long-running federal Pell Grant program, which provides need-based aid to college students for tuition and living costs. For the first time, federal grants will be available for students in certain short-term workforce programs, including fields such as automotive technology and computer training, many of which last about 10 weeks.

Both public and private institutions may qualify. Federal officials have not finalized all details, but the average student is expected to receive between $1,000 and $3,000.

The change could have significant implications for California community colleges, including those across Southern California and the Inland Empire, where many students pursue career technical education in health care, skilled trades, technology and public safety. But state officials say California does not yet have the systems in place to administer the new aid smoothly.

Daisy Gonzales, executive director of the California Student Aid Commission, has said in legislative hearings and in an interview with CalMatters that students likely will not receive the grants until weeks or possibly months after the federal start date. She described financial aid systems as “extremely complex” and said California lacks the infrastructure needed to meet the federal timeline.

Creating a new financial aid program requires coordination between federal officials, the state, colleges and local districts. California must build new administrative systems, enter into agreements with schools and ensure programs meet federal requirements before students can receive funds.

The grants are part of a bipartisan national push to better connect higher education with workforce needs. Supporters say the money could help students quickly train for jobs without taking on debt. But critics and policy experts warn that short-term job training programs have produced uneven results, especially when public dollars flow to programs that lead to low wages or unstable work.

In 2024, CalMatters reported on how California job centers used federal funds to help low-income and unemployed adults attend short-term training programs, including at for-profit schools. Public subsidies supported training for truck drivers and nursing assistants, occupations that can involve low pay, difficult working conditions and high turnover. Some for-profit schools were under investigation for various violations while enrolling students. CalMatters also found that most truck-driving schools had little oversight, and some nursing assistants earned less than $30,000 after completing their programs.

The new short-term Pell Grants include federal rules intended to limit those risks. Eligible programs must show that graduates earn more than the federal poverty level in a high-demand occupation, and only certain accredited schools will qualify. California lawmakers are also weighing a proposal that would further narrow which programs can receive the new funding.

Because neither the state nor the federal government closely tracks short-term workforce training programs, it remains unclear how many programs exist or how many students could benefit. The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office told CalMatters in an email that it is too early to provide estimates.

Gonzales pointed to Cal Grant C, a state program for students enrolled in career training programs that last at least 15 weeks, as one indication of potential demand. This year, about 225,000 students were potentially eligible for Cal Grant C. But the program has a relatively small budget and serves just under 7,800 students annually. The new federal Pell expansion could eventually bring billions of dollars in federal spending nationally.

In San Diego County, Southwestern College President Mark Sanchez said the grants could be especially important for students who work full time but still struggle to cover basic living expenses. At the Chula Vista campus, he said, some students, including U.S. citizens, live in Tijuana because housing is more affordable and cross the border each day to attend classes in California.

Sanchez has promoted the new Pell Grants to state and local officials, arguing they could help students move into better-paying careers. Southwestern College estimated that about 1,500 students could qualify across roughly 50 programs, ranging from music to accounting.

To participate, schools will have to work with state and federal agencies to prove that at least 70% of graduates from eligible programs are employed and earning wages above the federal poverty threshold. But education and workforce data are often scattered, incomplete or not collected at all, said Su Jin Jez, executive director of California Competes, an education policy nonprofit.

State records may show, for example, that a college graduate works for a school district and how much that person earns, Jez said. But the data may not show whether the graduate is working as a teacher, secretary, attorney or custodian.

“Our state invests billions in aligning higher education with the labor market, and we don’t have a good way of knowing whether those investments are paying off,” Jez said.

California Competes is sponsoring two bills this year. One, by state Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, D-Napa, would require state workforce agencies to collect more data. The other, by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, would regulate which programs qualify for the new short-term Pell Grants. Assemblymember Juan Alanis, R-Modesto, is a co-author of Irwin’s bill, and the Institute for College Access & Success is a co-sponsor.

The governor’s office has separately drafted emergency legislation that includes proposed regulations for the new grants. The California Student Aid Commission does not take formal positions on pending bills, but Gonzales has publicly praised Irwin’s legislation and criticized the governor’s proposal, saying it risks creating a fragmented system.

State officials are also looking to avoid the mistakes of a recent financial aid program that failed to gain traction. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature created the Learning-Aligned Employment Program, intended to provide millions of dollars in aid to working students and help them secure jobs related to their fields of study.

Gonzales, who was then vice chancellor of the community college system, said the program fell short. It relied on one-time funding and had only three years to succeed, she said, but lacked the professional development and technical assistance needed to help colleges and students use it effectively.

“You can’t just introduce a new tool and say, ‘Students, apply,’” Gonzales said.

By the end of the three-year period, few students had applied, and state lawmakers chose to cancel the program. Nicole Kangas, a spokesperson for the Student Aid Commission, said in an email to CalMatters that the Learning-Aligned Employment Program should serve as a warning as California implements the new Pell Grants.

Congress approved the Pell expansion last summer, but the U.S. Department of Education did not finalize its rules until last month, leaving states less than two months before the July 1 launch. California now must complete a long list of administrative and regulatory steps, including agreements between the state and each participating college district or university.

When the Student Aid Commission created similar agreements with colleges for the Middle Class Scholarship, the contracts ran 60 to 120 pages and took about nine months to complete, Gonzales said.

“We are really behind,” she said, adding that several other states have already passed legislation related to the new grants. Measures such as Irwin’s bill, she said, could give California “an opportunity to catch up.”

For Sanchez at Southwestern College, the challenge will not end once the grants are available. Colleges will still have to make sure current and prospective students know the aid exists and are encouraged to apply.

Many community college students face financial hardship, including some who are homeless, but large numbers either are unaware of financial aid, hesitate to apply or submit incomplete applications. Fewer than half of California community college students applied for financial aid last year, and state data show that even fewer received it.

Original source: CalMatters

The post California Moves to Launch New Financial Aid Grants for Short-Term Job Training appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The U.S. Department of Education is expected to expand Pell Grants beginning July 1 to cover certain short-term workforce training programs — courses that often last about 10 weeks and prepare students for jobs in fields such as automotive technology, information technology, health care, skilled trades and public safety. The change could affect students at community colleges and other eligible institutions across California, including campuses throughout Southern California and the Inland Empire.

But the California Student Aid Commission, the state agency responsible for administering financial aid, says the state does not yet have the systems in place to launch the program on the federal timeline.

Daisy Gonzales, the commission’s executive director, has said in legislative hearings and in an interview with CalMatters that students likely will not see the new grants until weeks or possibly months after the July 1 start date. Financial aid systems are highly complicated, she said, and California lacks the infrastructure to move that quickly.

The new awards, known as short-term Pell Grants or workforce Pell Grants, are an expansion of the long-running federal Pell Grant program, which provides need-based aid to low-income college students for tuition and living expenses. Until now, students in many brief job training programs generally have not qualified for federal student aid.

Under the new program, eligible students are expected to receive roughly $1,000 to $3,000, though final details are still being worked out. Public and private institutions may qualify if their programs meet federal requirements.

The grants are part of a broader bipartisan effort to connect higher education more directly with employers’ workforce needs. Supporters say the aid could help students quickly gain skills for better-paying jobs. But California’s past experience with publicly funded workforce training has also raised concerns about oversight, job quality and whether students benefit enough from the programs.

CalMatters previously examined how California job centers used federal funds to help low-income and unemployed adults enroll in short-term training programs at for-profit colleges. Public money supported training for careers such as truck driving and nursing assisting, fields that can be associated with low wages, difficult working conditions or high turnover. Some schools receiving students were under investigation for violations, and oversight of many truck-driving schools was limited. Some nursing assistants earned less than $30,000 after completing their programs.

The new federal Pell Grants include rules intended to prevent those problems. Programs must show that graduates earn wages above the federal poverty line and are entering fields considered in demand. Schools also must meet verification requirements. California lawmakers are considering additional restrictions on which programs should be allowed to participate.

A major challenge is that neither state nor federal officials have a comprehensive accounting of short-term workforce programs. That makes it difficult to know how many programs exist or how many students could benefit.

California’s 116 community colleges are likely to be among the main participants because they already offer many job-focused certificate and training programs. But the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office told CalMatters it is too early to estimate how many students might qualify.

One point of comparison is Cal Grant C, a state program for students in career education programs lasting at least 15 weeks. About 225,000 students were potentially eligible this year, according to state data. But Cal Grant C is much smaller than the new federal effort, serving fewer than 7,800 students annually.

In Southern California, college leaders say the aid could be especially important for students facing high housing and living costs.

At Southwestern College in Chula Vista, President Mark Sanchez said many students work full time but still struggle to cover basic expenses. Some students, including U.S. citizens, live across the border in Tijuana because housing is more affordable there and commute to campus in San Diego County.

Sanchez has urged state and local officials to support the new grants, saying they could help students move into higher-paying work. Southwestern College officials estimate about 1,500 students could be eligible across roughly 50 programs, from musicianship to accounting.

To qualify for the grants, colleges will need to prove to state and federal agencies that at least 70% of graduates from eligible programs are employed and earning above the federal poverty line. That requirement could be difficult because the necessary employment and wage data are scattered, incomplete or not collected in some cases.

Su Jin Jez, chief executive of the education nonprofit California Competes, said the state lacks the tools to fully evaluate whether workforce education investments are producing good results. For example, state data may show that a graduate works for a school district and how much that person earns, but not whether the graduate is employed as a teacher, secretary, attorney or custodian.

California Competes is sponsoring two bills this year aimed at improving workforce education accountability. One bill, by Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, D-Napa, would require state workforce agencies to collect more data. Another, by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, would regulate which programs can qualify for the new short-term Pell Grants. Assemblymember Juan Alanis, R-Modesto, is a co-author of Irwin’s bill, and The Institute for College Access & Success is a co-sponsor.

The governor’s office also has proposed emergency legislation with regulations for the new grants. The California Student Aid Commission does not take formal positions on bills, but Gonzales has praised Irwin’s proposal and criticized the governor’s plan, saying it could create a fragmented system.

State officials say they are trying to avoid repeating the problems of a pandemic-era financial aid initiative known as the Learning-Aligned Employment Program. Created by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature, that program was intended to provide aid to working students and help them find jobs connected to their studies.

Gonzales, who was then deputy chancellor of the community college system, called the program a failure. It relied on one-time funding and had only three years to succeed, she said, but lacked the professional development and technical support needed to make it work. Few students applied, and lawmakers eventually cut the program.

Nicole Kangas, a spokesperson for the Student Aid Commission, said in a statement that the experience should serve as a warning for the rollout of workforce Pell Grants.

Although Congress approved the expanded Pell Grants last summer, the U.S. Education Department finalized its regulations only last month, leaving states less than two months to prepare before the July 1 launch date. California officials and colleges still must complete a lengthy list of administrative steps, including agreements between the state and individual college districts and universities.

When the Student Aid Commission created similar agreements with universities for the Middle Class Scholarship, Gonzales said, the contracts ran 60 to 120 pages and took about nine months to finalize.

“We really are behind,” Gonzales said, noting that several other states have already adopted legislation. She said new state regulations, including Irwin’s bill, could help California catch up.

Even after the grants become available, college leaders say another hurdle remains: making sure students know the money exists and helping them apply.

Sanchez said Southwestern College will need to reach both current and prospective students with information about the new aid. Many community college students face serious financial hardship, including homelessness, but either do not know about financial aid, are reluctant to apply or submit incomplete applications.

State figures show that less than half of California community college students applied for financial aid last year, and fewer ultimately received it.

Original source: CalMatters

The post California Moves to Launch New Grants for Short-Term Job Training appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Roughly 40% of California community college courses are now offered online, according to CalMatters. The format has become especially important for students balancing school with jobs, caregiving duties and other responsibilities — a reality familiar to many students across Southern California and the Inland Empire.

But educators say online learning can also leave students feeling disconnected. Classes that lack face-to-face interaction may be harder for some students to navigate, particularly when courses are asynchronous and require students to manage their time independently.

Di Xu, a professor at UC Irvine’s School of Education, said online courses demand strong “self-directed learning skills,” including a high level of time management. In traditional classrooms, she said, interaction tends to happen more naturally.

“In an in-person environment interaction happens naturally,” Xu said. “But in an online environment, especially asynchronous, that opportunity needs to be embedded. Otherwise, the student will feel very lonely.”

Despite those challenges, demand for online courses remains high. Students often prefer the flexibility, and colleges can generally offer online classes at a lower cost than in-person instruction.

Rebecca Ruan-O’Shaughnessy, director of program and strategy at the College Futures Foundation and a former executive with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, said colleges must adjust to the needs of today’s students. Among the ideas she described as promising are shorter course formats and programs that better connect coursework with the work experience many adult students already have.

Some faculty members are also looking at specific subjects where online instruction may not provide enough preparation. Julia Simon, a French professor at UC Davis who chairs a university task force on languages, said students in online foreign language courses may not get enough speaking practice.

Simon said that can leave students underprepared once they arrive at UC Davis. Because the university cannot require students to repeat classes they have already completed, she said one possible solution would be to offer conversation courses as a form of additional support.

The effort reflects a broader challenge for California colleges: preserving the convenience and access of online education while improving student engagement, interaction and academic readiness.

Original source: CalMatters

The post CA colleges try to improve online classes appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

More than 2 million students attend California community colleges — about 60 times the undergraduate enrollment of UC Berkeley. Yet since COVID-19 forced colleges online, a large share of instruction has stayed there. About 40% of community college classes in California are now offered online, according to Melissa Villarin, a spokesperson for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

College leaders say online courses have opened doors for working adults, parents, caregivers and students who otherwise could not fit college into their daily lives. But students and faculty also describe serious tradeoffs: less interaction, weaker engagement, loneliness, uneven teaching quality and, in some cases, courses that feel more like a checklist than an education.

The shift matters across Southern California and the Inland Empire, where community colleges serve large numbers of working students trying to balance school with jobs, family obligations and long commutes. It also matters financially for colleges. California’s community colleges are funded largely based on enrollment, and surveys show many students prefer the flexibility of online classes, giving colleges an incentive to keep expanding them.

The result is a system still trying to answer a difficult question: Can online education be as effective as learning in person?

For some students, the answer depends heavily on the instructor.

At San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, student Lupe Archundia said her online microeconomics course relied on prerecorded lectures, some of them more than 10 years old. Quizzes were multiple choice and graded by computer. She said the professor made quiz answers available before students took the tests.

“I am a 39-year-old woman,” Archundia said. “It’s not like I just finished high school and I want easy test answers.”

Archundia works full time as a secretary and has two children. She often studies at night, using cardboard boxes to turn her dining room table into a makeshift standing desk. She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree with hopes of advancing in her career.

At first, she said, she spent about three hours studying before each quiz. After realizing the answers were available, she began taking shortcuts. She earned a high score on the online exam, but said she still does not fully understand some of the material, including elasticity.

She said she feels partly responsible. “I’m responsible, too,” she said.

Research on online education remains mixed. A 2025 study found that students generally perform worse in online courses than in face-to-face classes, though the gap has narrowed. Di Xu, a professor at UC Irvine’s School of Education, said online classes can also help students stay employed while attending school and may improve their chances of eventually finishing a degree.

But online learning places heavy demands on students, Xu said. It requires strong time management and the ability to direct one’s own learning. In a classroom, interaction happens more naturally. Online, especially in asynchronous classes where students watch recorded material on their own schedule, that connection has to be intentionally built into the course.

“If not, the student will feel very lonely,” Xu said.

Most online classes at California community colleges are asynchronous, meaning students do not meet live with an instructor at a set time. Surveys by the RP Group, an education research nonprofit, show students tend to prefer that format even over live online courses.

Archundia said she would rather take classes in person, but evening options are limited, particularly for the English courses she wants. She dreams of becoming a writer and is considering changing her major from business administration to English, but said she is unsure which classes she needs.

When she contacted a counselor in April for help choosing courses, the next available appointment was roughly three weeks away. She still had not found a counseling time that fit around her work schedule.

Alex Breitler, a spokesperson for Delta College, said online courses expand access for students juggling major responsibilities and for many who otherwise could not attend college. He acknowledged that counseling appointments are often booked weeks in advance because demand is high. The college, he said, is trying to respond with online question forms and drop-in counseling options that do not require appointments.

Rebecca Ruan-O’Shaughnessy, director of program and strategy at the College Futures Foundation and a former executive at the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, said advising and support are especially important for online students. But she said colleges need to do more than move traditional classes onto a digital platform.

Online courses should be redesigned for the format, she said, with different structures, stronger support and approaches that recognize many students are adults with work experience and full-time jobs.

“That is the difficult part for community colleges and other institutions,” Ruan-O’Shaughnessy said. “Frankly, they don’t have the incentive to do that level of work, because that’s a lot of work.”

In San Diego County, Cyndi Cunningham enrolled at Palomar College in San Marcos in 2022 after the pandemic disrupted her retail job at a local mall. She was starting college for the first time and took mostly online general education and introductory courses.

She struggled to focus and manage her time. She said she wanted more in-person options but often could not find them.

“I only ended up taking one class in person per semester — not because I didn’t want to take in-person classes — but because I couldn’t find them,” Cunningham said. “I felt like I wasn’t learning; I was just kind of doing tasks.”

She said she also noticed shortcuts from instructors. Two Chicano Studies courses she took were taught by the same professor, and she said he used the same lecture in both classes.

Cunningham has since transferred to Cal State San Marcos, where she is majoring in ethnic studies and plans to become a high school teacher. The difference, she said, has made clear what she missed.

“Even engaging with other students is so much different in person than on a discussion board,” she said. “I realized more how much of a disservice the online classes did.”

Online courses can reduce some expenses for colleges because they do not require classroom space and can enroll more students, Xu said. But quality online instruction often requires additional investments, including faculty training, course design support and specialized counseling.

Online education “has the potential to save a lot of cost,” Xu said, but only if colleges are “willing to sacrifice a lot of the quality elements that are important for students.”

Some disciplines face particular concerns. Julia Simon, a French professor at UC Davis and chair of a university task force on languages, said foreign language instruction is especially difficult to move online. Language classes are typically small and depend on regular speaking practice and cultural exchange.

At the same time, she said, community colleges and UC campuses are expanding online language offerings. Sacramento City College, for example, is offering four French classes in fall 2026, all of them fully online and asynchronous.

“It’s an enormous problem,” Simon said.

Students who complete online language courses may arrive at UC Davis without enough speaking practice, she said. But the university cannot require them to repeat courses they have already passed. Simon said she is considering creating conversation courses that would function as remedial support.

State lawmakers and education officials have spent millions of dollars since the pandemic to improve online instruction. New rules are intended to increase interaction between students and faculty. Colleges have also expanded training for online teaching and hired staff to help design digital courses.

Still, a 2024 RP Group survey found that most faculty members who had taught at least one online class preferred teaching in person.

For Tina Rocha, a 55-year-old Delta College student, online learning has been both a lifeline and a frustration. Rocha began college in 2024 after recovering from three strokes in 2020. Because of her disability, she sometimes needs reminders to submit assignments and accommodations for certain lights or sounds that can affect her vision and cause twitching.

Her creative writing professor, she said, spent a sabbatical studying ways to better teach students with learning disabilities. Rocha said the effort showed. The professor has been patient and accommodating, making the online class a positive experience.

Online education can be a “wonderful alternative,” Rocha said.

Her home reflects the discipline required to manage school remotely. She studies nightly at her dining room table, surrounded by notebooks. A calendar on the wall is filled with notes, and a whiteboard near the entrance lists the week’s responsibilities in color-coded lines.

But another online course, a film class, has been much harder. Rocha said the professor keeps a lava lamp in the background that casts patterns on the ceiling. The visual effect can trigger symptoms for her. When she asked him to turn it off, she said he told her he tried but could not, without explaining why.

Now, when he speaks on screen, Rocha places a sticky note over the image to avoid the effect. She tried to switch into an in-person film class, but by then, only online sections were available.

“It all depends on the professor,” she said.

Original source: CalMatters

The post ‘I felt like I wasn’t learning’: Community college students struggle with online education appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

MSJC received a “Mixed Associate Large” designation in the 2025 Institutional Classification, placing it among only 78 institutions nationwide—just 2% of U.S. colleges and universities included in this category. This classification is based on various factors, including degree offerings, subject areas, and institutional size, and it groups MSJC with peer institutions offering a diverse mix of associate degrees at a large scale.

MSJC also earned a “Higher Access, Medium Earnings” designation in the newly introduced Student Access and Earnings Classification. This classification includes 1,321 institutions, accounting for 43% of all classified U.S. colleges and universities. It reflects MSJC’s strong record in serving historically underrepresented students and helping them achieve competitive earnings outcomes post-graduation.

“These designations reflect MSJC’s unwavering commitment to two of our top institutional priorities—Equity in Access and Equity in Success,” said Dr. Roger Schultz, MSJC Superintendent/President. “We are proud to be recognized for enrolling and supporting a diverse student population, and for preparing our students to contribute meaningfully to their communities and the workforce.”

The Institutional Classification is a revised framework that offers a descriptive snapshot of institutions based on publicly reported data. It is intended to promote research, analysis, and understanding of the structure of American higher education.

The Student Access and Earnings Classification, added in 2025, evaluates colleges based on two key dimensions: the enrollment of Pell Grant recipients and underrepresented racial/ethnic students (Access) and post-attendance earnings eight years after entry (Earnings), contextualized by local economic and demographic data.

For more information on the 2025 Carnegie Classifications and to explore an interactive database, visit: https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu.

The post MSJC Recognized in 2025 Carnegie Classifications for Institutional Impact and Student Access appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

With initial results from all precincts, 56.8% of voters backed the bond measure, and 43.2% opposed it. Still to be counted are mail-in ballots not yet received and provisional ballots. Support for the bond broke 60% in Los Angeles, Alpine, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Mendocino, Alameda, Yolo, Marin and San Mateo counties. Only counties in the state’s far north opposed it.

Proposition 2 was one of two $10 billion state bonds on the ballot; the other was Proposition 4 for funding efforts to abate the impact of climate change. Proposition 2 supporters had worried that voters might choose one over the other, but both passed easily.

“What has been clear is that people support it when they understand what Proposition 2 will do and its impact on schools,” said Molly Weedn, spokesperson for a pro-Proposition 2 campaign. “People are seeing the need in real time. When you have a leaky roof, it only gets leakier.”

The campaign, organized by the Coalition for Adequate School Housing (CASH), representing school districts and school construction interests that underwrote the effort, had not yet issued a statement Wednesday.

Even as enrollment in most districts is projected to continue to fall over the next decade, the need for unattended repairs and replacement of aging portable classrooms and buildings has mushroomed. The Center for Cities + Schools at UC Berkeley estimates that 85% of classrooms in California are more than 25 years old; 30% are between 50 and 70 years old, and about 10% are 70 years old or older. 

Climate change has exposed more of the state to unprecedented levels of heat and unhealthy air and underscored the need to replace aging or defective heating and cooling systems.  

The last state bond proposal, in March 2020, coincided with the emergence of Covid-19; anxiety over the virus contributed to its defeat as well as a majority of local districts’ construction bonds. Districts on the rebound from the pandemic were reluctant to ask voters to pass bonds in 2022.

Reflecting a suppressed demand for addressing facilities, a record 252 school districts asked voters on Tuesday to pass local construction bonds totaling $40 billion; an additional 13 community colleges proposed bonds totaling $10.6 billion. Thus, the demand for state help will far exceed the new funding.

Proposition 2, funded by the state’s general fund, needed a simple majority of voters to pass while local school bonds, which require increases in property taxes, require a 55% majority approval. A quick look at some of the larger proposals indicated voters were largely supportive, passing a $9 billion bond in Los Angeles Unified, a $900 million bond in Pasadena Unified and a $1.15 billion bond in San Jose Unified for upgrading facilities, with $283 set aside for housing for staff.

The portion of state funding for school districts will be distributed to projects on a matching basis, with the state contributing 50% of the eligible funding for new construction and 60% of the cost for renovations.

An estimated $3 billion in unfunded school projects from the 2016 bond measure, Proposition 55, will get first dibs at Proposition 2’s new construction and modernization money under the existing rules. Some of these projects have already been completed and will receive the funding retroactively. The rationale is that districts undertook the projects with the expectation that they would eventually receive state aid.

Once Proposition 2 runs out of money, a new line of unfunded projects will be formed for the next state bond. Interest and the principal for Proposition 2 will be repaid from the state’s general fund, at an estimated cost of $500 million per year for 35 years, according to an analysis by the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

How money will be spent

The $10 billion will split as follows:

• $1.5 billion for community colleges
• $8.5 billion for TK-12 districts, allocated as follows:
  • $4 billion for repairs, replacement of portables at least 20 years old, and other modernization work
  • $3.3 billion for new construction
  • $600 million for facilities for career and technical education programs
  • $600 million for facilities for charter schools
  • $115 million to remove lead from school drinking water

The portion of Proposition 2 for community colleges will help renovate existing buildings, construct new classrooms and even replace sewage lines. The chancellor’s office earlier this year already approved 27 projects — totaling about $709 million — that will be covered by the bond measure in a first round of funding. They include projects across the state, from Shasta College in the north to Imperial Valley College near the Mexico border.

Across the college system, with 115 brick-and-mortar community colleges, more than half of the buildings were built more than 40 years ago, said Hoang Nguyen, director of facilities for the system. 

“It’s not like we’re sitting on newer facilities or anything like that. Our campuses are older,” he said. “So this proposition would be of great help.”

The state’s largest district, the Los Angeles Community College District, got approval for four projects in the first round. That includes a new building to house Los Angeles Trade-Tech’s automotive technology, diesel technology and rail systems technology programs, as well as a new kinesiology building at Los Angeles City College. There will also be sewer replacement at Los Angeles Valley and Pierce colleges.

“We’d like to think that our students, if they’re learning in these beautiful new buildings, will feel motivated to complete their training, get their certificates and get an education,” said Leigh Sata, the district’s chief facilities officer.

The portion for TK-12 will set aside 10% of new funding for modernization and new construction for small districts, defined as those with fewer than 2,501 students. It will also expand financial hardship assistance in tiny districts whose tax bases are too low to issue a bond. The state will pick up the full tab for those districts.

The bond will also allow districts to seek supplemental money to build gyms, all-purpose rooms, or kitchens in schools that lack them. But, contrary to the wishes of early education advocates, it won’t dedicate funding to one of the most pressing needs that districts face: adding more classrooms or renovating existing space for transitional kindergarten students.

Except for the set-aside for small districts, Proposition 2 will continue allotting matching money on a first-come, first-served basis, which favors large districts and small, property-wealthy districts with an in-house staff of architects and project managers adept at navigating complex funding requirements.

It also won’t significantly provide a bigger state match for districts with low property values; many lack a large enough tax base to issue bonds to meet basic building needs. Data from the Center for Cities + Schools at UC Berkeley shows that property-wealthy districts, with more taxable property per student, have received a disproportionately higher share of matching state funding over the past 25 years.

One of the system’s outspoken critics is the nonprofit public interest law firm Public Advocates. Its managing partner, John Affeldt, said Wednesday that in passing Proposition 2, “Voters recognized the reality that so many facilities need significant modernization. But I don’t think voters are also aware of and approving the underlying distribution of the bond funds that send so many more dollars to high-wealth districts instead of low-wealth districts.

“We’ll continue to be a voice to make sure the state creates a system that equitably treats all its students,” he said.

EdSource reporter Thomas Peele contributed to the article.

The post California voters say yes to $10 billion school construction bond appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.