• The Clovis Unified School District strongly supports the protection of local control for public schools in California. Locally elected school boards and the district’s governance team are charged with implementing an educational program that serves the unique interests and priorities of the community while abiding by the basic standards that are part of current law. We oppose legislative efforts that erode local control and interfere with the rights of the community and parents to be fully engaged in the policy and fiscal decision-making process at the school district level. In our school district, we firmly believe that decision-making at the level closest to those served by the government is not just important, but critical to ensuring effective and responsive education policies. Fiscal, instructional and operational issues related to local public schools and the interest of our public school students ought to be subject to the governance of local school boards and family-based values should not be compromised.

• Average Daily Attendance (ADA) Loss Protections

The current year budget clearly had revenue challenges and despite those challenges, the Legislature and Governor addressed a number of crucial issues for PK-12 education. Among the serious fiscal difficulties that did not get addressed was the importance of revisiting the issues related to ADA loss and declining enrollment. Heightened health awareness and an abundance of caution by parents has led to consequential ADA declines for Clovis Unified School District since state funding is directly tied to student attendance. While the short-term assistance provided two years ago along with a new three-year rolling average for calculating ADA was essential, there is a systemic, permanent loss of attendance that still needs legislative attention. Clovis Unified School District supports additional state level ADA loss protection. 

During the past two years, enrollment-based funding has been considered in legislation by the state legislature as an alternative to ADA-based funding.  The Clovis Unified School District has not supported this legislation and continues to oppose enrollment-based funding which amounts to simply shifting resources from some districts to others.  Our district continues to support the Average Daily Attendance Method as districts have a responsibility to promote positive attendance to ensure the opportunities to educate our students.

• Increase Base Funding for Education

The Governor and Legislature have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to base funding for education, particularly in light of the extraordinary efforts made to fund the full COLA for PK-12 education the last several years. Beyond just an inflation allowance, the base of LCFF and other PK-12 programs essentially stand still without allocations above that basic level.  Over the past several years, the Governor and Legislature have acknowledged this by ensuring that funding was provided to base funding beyond COLA but is is critical to address the formula as every time the base increases so does the supplemental and concentration dollars that are allocated. The new LCFF formula has become more restrictive than the old revenue limits formulas as the increased dollars are continually added to restricted programs when we need the dollars in the base operational cost of the district.

Local educational programs that are comprehensive and equitable cannot exist without the ongoing support of adequate state funds. The school district projects a fiscal cliff in the coming years as State and Federal one-time funds become exhausted and we continue to have challenges with the fiscal impacts due to fluctuations of student enrollment and rapidly growing costs (e.g., pensions, healthcare, special education, transportation, and unemployment insurance). Looking for ways to increase LCFF base funding beyond the COLA augmentation will be essential to sustaining programs that are critical to student success and well-being.

• The huge unfunded mandates in special education, primarily from the Federal government but also state requirements are a serious ongoing issue for Clovis Unified School District. Clovis Unified School District is committed to protecting the civil rights and educational opportunities of students with disabilities, but continued efforts to seek funding support from the state is vitally important. Clovis Unified School District supports full funding of special education programs through state and federal resources, given that local districts currently carry the majority of the costs to ensure all students with disabilities have access to the educational services and opportunities they deserve. The district urges the state to make continued investments in special education.

• We recognize the pivotal role that school facilities play in shaping the educational experiences of our students. We firmly believe that every child deserves access to a safe, modern, and inspiring learning environment that fosters growth, innovation, and academic excellence. We know that investing in school facilities is an investment in the future of our community and our nation. We commit to securing equitable funding for school facilities across Clovis Unified. Regardless of a student's background or circumstances, they should have the same access to state-of-the-art facilities that enhance their learning journey. We support robust and sustainable funding mechanisms that ensure our schools have the resources they need to create environments conducive to learning. Recognizing the rising costs associated with school construction and modernization, we advocate for a forward-thinking funding formula. This formula should accurately address the increasing expenses and complexities of maintaining, renovating, and building new school facilities. By acknowledging the cost escalation, we can allocate funds more effectively and ensure that every dollar invested yields the greatest impact on student learning and development.

• The district supports the long-overdue funding for school transportation programs and advocates for progress in raising the percentage of covered costs from 60 percent to 100 percent phased in over a multi-year period.

• Clovis Unified supports funding for cleaner, fuel-efficient buses that are not restricted to electric bus technology. The broad investments in electric school bus technology benefits only some school districts where route distance and topography are a unique fit. The limitations on driving distance on a single charge and the overall technology of electric school buses have not yet achieved a capacity to serve all districts including Clovis Unified. Funding for school bus infrastructure that is increasingly environmentally friendly should not be limited to electric buses.

• Only in recent years has California begun to reverse the trend of disinvestment in CTE. Clovis Unified School District is implementing ambitious and successful CTE programs but needs the state to increase its commitment to these educational programs that are directly linked to job creation and our regional economic future. Clovis Unified School District supports actions to provide ongoing increased support to career technical education programs.

• The current year budget was the first State budget in four years to forgo any assistance from the State to help school districts shoulder the unfunded burden of pension cost increases mandated by state actions. Clovis Unified School District supports protecting the retirement benefits of its employees, past and present, by addressing the unfunded obligation that is generating volatility and strain for the budgets of local educational agencies around the state. 

Increasing CalSTRS and CalPERS state mandated pension costs divert resources away from instruction and student supports. Clovis Unified School District supports the state providing additional funding to both pension systems on behalf of school employers to mitigate growing obligations. The district urges the Governor and Legislature to allocate State General Fund resources to mitigate the increased costs of PERS and STRS on public school districts.   Clovis Unified believes the rapid debt paydown on pensions should be adjusted before any future reductions to services are considered.

• Even today, the COVID-19 Pandemic has created long-lasting negative impacts to the certificated and classified staffing of the district. Identifying opportunities to hire highly qualified teachers and classified staff is of the highest importance as it fundamentally impacts the quality of education for students. Clovis Unified School District supports policies that maximize the authority and flexibility of school boards to attract and retain highly qualified staff. The district also supports restoring flexibility in credentialing requirements for the hiring of new teachers and options to retain teaching talent longer, even after retirement, as tools to confront the teacher shortage.