State budget nets 8.22% COLA for K-14 schools, but more work needs to be done
Despite the state facing a deficit of billions of dollars, the 2023-2024 California state budget provides a substantial increase in public school funding and the protection of critical funding streams that our students and our schools rely on.
“In adopting the 2023-2024 state budget, Governor Newsom and the California Legislature have once again shown their firm commitment to protecting public education in California,” said CFT President Jeff Freitas in a statement released this week. “Fully funding the 8.22% statutory COLA for both TK-12 and community college systems, and increasing the base funding for UC by 5%, provides critical ongoing funding to address the pressing needs of our schools, including solving the growing staffing crisis in our TK-12 schools and eliminating the inequitable two-tier system for faculty in higher education."
Nevertheless, despite being the 4th largest economy in the world, California still lags behind in public school funding and there is much more work to be done.
“And we can and must do more,” continues Freitas. “We are committed to working with our allies in our communities, the labor movement, and Sacramento to raise revenue for public education through progressive taxation to ultimately deliver the quality public education that every California student deserves.”
Data leak impacting hundreds of thousands of STRS and CalPERS retirees and beneficiaries
In June both the CalSTRS and CalPERS systems announced that data from a third-party vendor had leaked, impacting hundreds of thousands of retirees and beneficiaries in both systems. The leak did not impact actively employed members of either system. For more information, click here.
Solidarity with striking SAG-AFTRA workers!
This morning 160,000 members of The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists joined the picket line alongside the more than 11,000 striking WGA writers. This will be the first time in 63 years that both unions will be on strike at the same time. We stand in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA and WGA in this historic moment as they fight for fair wages.
Watch this inspiring video of SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher on what is at stake during this pivotal strike. And for more information on how you can join the picket line, click here.
