Great idea. Give Republicans a little budget “wiggle room”

by David Safier
In 2000, voters passed Proposition 301 that increased sales taxes to fund salary hikes for teachers and extras for the classroom. But there was another part as well:

. . . it also contained a provision requiring annual increases by 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. That was included because lawmakers sometimes did not give inflation adjustments or provided tiny ones.

Apparently the exact meaning of the annual increase stipulation is being questioned by Republicans.

[Republican] Lawmakers now want to discard the requirement that they boost the main school funding formula and instead boost a much smaller part of the formula as they struggle to close an estimated $3 billion gap in next year's state budget.

Their "smaller part" would mean an $8.2 million inflation adjustment. The accepted interpretation would result in a $102 million adjustment.

But hey, don't worry, if they get the power to cut the adjustment, that doesn't mean they'll use it.

. . . a Republican budget-writer . . . said lawmakers are just looking for some budget wiggle room and have no intention of taking the extra money away from schools.

[snip]

. . . Kavanagh said lawmakers just want the ability to move money around to give both the state and districts more flexibility.

"When the dust settles, we're going to give the schools as much as we can," he said.

If Kavanagh says to trust him, I guess that means we're in good hands.