Governor’s school funding could worsen Walnut Valley’s $5 million deficit

In what promises to be one of his most significant policy moves this year, Gov. Jerry Brown will pursue a sweeping overhaul of the way California schools are funded, changing the way money has been allocated for four decades.
Brown wants to simplify funding streams, giving more local control to school boards and more money to districts with low-income students and those who don’t speak English fluently.
Walnut Valley Unified, which is already suffering from a $4.7 million deficit and can’t afford to pay its bills, could face more funding shortages under the new proposal.
“Because Walnut Valley has relatively few low-income students or English learners, on the surface it would appear that the district would not benefit from the new formula proposal,” Superintendent Dean Conklin said.
“Because we are working with Los Angeles County to ensure that the district’s financial situation becomes much more solid in the next year or two, any reduction in dollars would make things more challenging for us.”