Lecturers within the St. Helena Unified College District earn a median of $155,546 per yr, based on state knowledge for 2023-24 — making it one of many highest-paying public college districts in California. Solely Mountain View-Los Altos Union Excessive in Santa Clara County pays extra.
In contrast, academics in neighboring Napa Valley Unified, the county’s largest district with about 16,000 college students, earn a median of $104,358. That determine sits barely above the state common of $101,084, but it’s practically one-third decrease than within the 1,100-student St. Helena district.
The disparity underscores how, even inside a single county, wealth and housing values can dramatically form college assets and trainer pay. A brand new examine launched this month says such gaps are a direct results of California’s funding method, a system overhauled in 2013 to make college financing extra equitable however that continues to favor a small group of property-rich districts.
Beneath California’s Native Management Funding Method, the state units a goal funding quantity for every district based mostly on attendance and pupil demographics, aiming to direct extra assist to high-need colleges. Districts obtain this goal quantity by means of a mix of native property taxes and state support.
Most districts rely closely on state funds as a result of their native property tax income isn’t sufficient to fulfill the goal. However about 140 “fundamental support” districts — typically positioned in rich areas — generate a lot in native property taxes that they exceed the goal and get to maintain the excess.
The outcome, the examine says, is a system the place fundamental support districts can afford to pay academics considerably extra and preserve smaller class sizes, whereas close by districts with fewer native tax {dollars} wrestle to compete.
“The state has made loads of necessary strikes in direction of extra equitable distribution of assets,” stated Carrie Hahnel, a co-author of the report. “However one of many issues we’ve seen is that these state insurance policies don’t all the time translate into fairness on the native degree. In some components of the state, there are large variations in assets between districts, and people variations correspond with strains of wealth and housing worth.”
A widening hole
Todd Collins, a former college board member of fundamental support district Palo Alto Unified and one of many examine’s funders, stated the divide is rising.
“It is a runaway prepare,” he stated. “In Palo Alto, 10 years in the past, our hole with close by non-basic support districts like San Jose Unified was about $5,000 per pupil. At the moment, it’s about $15,000. If we don’t cease this, the issue will solely get tougher to take care of.”
He stated declining enrollment is worsening the issue. As non-basic support districts lose college students and state funding, property-rich districts see their per-pupil income rise.
Throughout his years on the board, Collins stated Palo Alto by no means questioned whether or not it might afford one thing solely when to fund it. When he spoke with folks in high-need, non-basic support districts, he stated, he realized their state of affairs was the precise reverse: they all the time needed to fear in regards to the price range.
The examine, produced by schooling consultancy Bellwether and the analysis middle PACE, was funded by a number of schooling and philanthropic teams, together with the Give Ahead Basis, the Bay Space Tutoring Affiliation, the Silicon Valley Schooling Basis and the Walton Household Basis.
The place Napa matches in
Of California’s greater than 900 college districts, about 140 are labeled as fundamental support. These districts serve simply over 5% of the state’s TK–12 college students and are typically clustered in counties with excessive property wealth.
Napa County is a kind of areas. 4 of its 5 districts — together with St. Helena Unified and Calistoga Joint Unified — qualify as fundamental support. Napa Valley Unified is the lone exception, relying totally on state funding.
In neighboring counties, the sample is analogous: 17 districts in Sonoma County, together with Sonoma Valley Unified and Healdsburg Unified, fall into the essential support class. Marin County has 12, amongst them Mill Valley Elementary and Tamalpais Union Excessive.
However even inside the fundamental support group, there’s huge variation. Some districts generate 1000’s of {dollars} in extra income per pupil, whereas others simply barely qualify and fluctuate between fundamental support and state-funded standing relying on enrollment and property values.
In Napa County, for instance, tiny Pope Valley and Howell Mountain Elementary — with a mixed enrollment of fewer than 150 college students — technically qualify as fundamental support however acquire little to no benefit from it.
In line with the examine, fundamental support districts collectively generated $1.3 billion in extra native property tax income in 2023–24, a median of $4,776 extra per pupil than different districts.
In Napa County, St. Helena Unified spent $37,530 per pupil final yr. Calistoga spent $32,476. Napa Valley Unified, by comparability, spent $16,915 — roughly half as a lot, per state knowledge.
That hole persists though Napa Valley Unified serves a far greater share of high-need college students. One in 5 of its college students are English learners, in contrast with 12% in St. Helena Unified. Practically 65% of its college students are socioeconomically deprived, in contrast with 36% in St. Helena.
And the divide retains widening. Whereas whole college funding statewide has grown by 25% over the previous 5 years, extra income in fundamental support districts has risen by 41%, based on the examine.
As a result of their budgets usually are not tied to enrollment, fundamental support districts typically see per-student funding rise when enrollment drops. For districts depending on state support, fewer college students imply much less cash, forcing price range cuts and limiting new applications.
For a district like Napa Valley Unified, sustaining stability whereas investing in new initiatives can really feel like a relentless balancing act.
Cash, academics and outcomes
Bigger budgets typically translate into stronger trainer pay and pupil efficiency.
The 5 highest-paying districts in California all fall beneath the essential support class, the examine discovered.
For state-funded districts, Hahnel stated, that creates a revolving-door impact: “Lecturers typically begin their careers in lower-paying districts after which transfer on to close by, wealthier ones as soon as they’ve extra expertise and extra choices.”
“A few of the decrease paying districts are having to speculate extra in trainer coaching and in addition experiencing larger churn of academics as a result of they lose these folks as soon as they’ve a little bit bit extra expertise and extra choices,” Hahnel added. “It’s an actual hiring and personnel drawback for these districts which have much less cash.”
Cindy Watter, a Napa Valley Unified college board member and former Napa Excessive trainer, stated she has seen a number of educators go away for close by, wealthier districts.
“These had been individuals who loved working for our district however couldn’t say no to a 25% bump of their pay,” she stated.
Nonetheless, district spokesperson Julie Bordes stated departures stay comparatively uncommon. “NVUSD’s aggressive wages and constant will increase, mixed with neighboring districts’ smaller dimension and the geographic isolation of our area, lead to comparatively few Napa or American Canyon neighborhood members leaving NVUSD to pursue alternatives in different college districts,” she stated.
Past greater salaries, St. Helena Unified additionally advantages from smaller class sizes, about 13 college students per trainer in contrast with 22 in Napa Valley Unified. And whereas each districts noticed dips in math scores this yr, St. Helena continues to outperform state averages throughout topics. Napa Valley Unified stays under these averages regardless of current features.
State response and attainable fixes
The inequities highlighted by the examine have reached the state legislature. In February, Sen. Dave Cortese, D-Silicon Valley, launched a invoice to create a reserve fund for non-basic support districts in hopes of narrowing per-pupil spending gaps. The Senate handed the measure in June; it’s now beneath evaluate within the Meeting.
20 years in the past, then-Gov. Grey Davis proposed reducing extra funding from fundamental support districts to assist shut the state deficit. The thought met fierce opposition and failed.
This yr’s examine suggests different potential fixes: consolidating smaller districts to share assets, increasing interdistrict switch alternatives, redistributing extra property tax income inside counties, or rising state assist for property-poor districts.
Every choice, researchers notice, comes with tradeoffs. Consolidation might scale back prices and unfold income extra evenly however faces steep political opposition. Increasing transfers may enhance pupil entry however complicates district planning.
In response to questions on enrollment and funding, St. Helena Unified lately voted to alter the way it accepts out-of-district college students, a transfer that underscores the pliability basic-aid districts have in contrast with these reliant on state support.
For practically 15 years, the district participated in California’s “district of selection” program, permitting a restricted variety of switch college students every year by means of a lottery system. Beginning in 2026-27, it can change to the Interdistrict Switch Settlement course of, which requires approval from each the house and receiving districts. The change provides St. Helena extra discretion over admissions however is not going to have an effect on present college students.
Wanting forward
As enrollment declines statewide and funding gaps proceed to widen, the distinction between California’s property-rich and state-funded districts has develop into extra seen and extra consequential.
“Regardless of what I contemplate the extraordinary unfairness of the state of affairs, I’m very optimistic,” Napa Valley Unified trustee Watter stated. “We’re shifting ahead, and I’m seeing nice issues forward.”
For now, although, California’s college funding system continues to provide districts working on vastly totally different taking part in fields separated by little greater than a boundary line.
