SAN JOSE, CA – The Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) is shining a light on the Local Control Accountability Plan and its promise of equity in the latest episode of "Spotlight on the SCCOE," a monthly television series that launched in May.
The third episode,
"Discussion on the Local Control Accountability Plan," opens with Michael Bachicha, Director of
State and Federal Programs at the SCCOE, explaining key components of the LCAP, as it is known in educational circles, and what the public should grasp about this funding shift.
LCAP is part of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which was signed into law in 2013. According to Bachicha, LCAP describes "the actions and services we're going to provide to improve student outcomes for all students and specifically how we're also going to improve outcomes for the traditionally underserved; low income, English learner, foster youth population."
"With regards to the revolutionary model, by taking the strings off, now the districts are able to look at, my metaphor is, the whole ship and how am I steering the whole ship?" Bachicha says. "Versus the categorical funds where here's a lifeboat, here's a lifeboat, here's a lifeboat, now I can really focus on how am I steering the whole ship toward outcomes and improved equity for all?"
This month's show also features County Superintendent of Schools Jon R. Gundry; Frank Ponciano, Community Organizer of
People Acting in Community Together (PACT); and Rigel S. Massaro, Staff Attorney of
Public Advocates, a nonprofit law firm located in San Francisco and Sacramento.
"We've actually been working closely with community partners for over a decade to try and reform the state's funding formula because until LCFF it was understood they say by something like five people. It was extremely complex and it was very inequitable. You had similarly situated districts receiving vastly different amounts per pupil," Massaro says. "…It's (LCFF) the biggest change in California school finance in 40 years, so it's a really big adjustment for everyone."
"Spotlight on the SCCOE," hosted by Chief Public Affairs Officer Peter Daniels, was created to help inform the local community about the latest happenings in K-12 education. It features Mr. Gundry and different guests each month discussing important issues affecting education. Be sure to tune in next time, where the SCCOE will discuss
DataZone and the
Silicon Valley Regional Data Trust.
In addition to being available on the
SCCOE YouTube page, "Spotlight on the SCCOE" will air at 6:30 p.m. on Sundays on CreaTV Classrooms, Cable Channel 28 in San Jose and Campbell, and at 6:30 p.m. on Mondays on Bay Voice TV. Bay Voice TV airs on Cable Channel 27 in Atherton, Campbell, Cupertino, East Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Stanford University, and Sunnyvale. New episodes will air each month.
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