Coalition Support for AB 609
Editor’s Note: This post was published in 2011.
If passed, Assembly Bill 609, sponsored by Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, would provide critical relief for Oakland’s students in both the short- and long-term.
- In the short term, the district would be relieved from paying an additional $3.4 million in fines. This relief is important at a time when schools across California have faced $18 billion in cuts ($3,000 per student) over the last few years.
- In the long-term, AB 609 would reduce OUSD’s total debt. For the $2 million already paid, AB 609 would count these payments against the total balance on OUSD’s loan. OUSD currently pays about $6 million each year on a 20-year loan with a current balance of approximately $74 million.
AB 609 holds OUSD accountable for corrections required by the State Controller audits, while relieving Oakland’s students of unintended fines that have resulted from the current lack of clarity about the purpose of the audits. It provides relief to Oakland’s students without increasing pressure on the General Fund. The bill is currently in the State Assembly Appropriations Committee.
GO Public Schools helped bring together a coalition of nonprofit organizations in support of AB609. Click here to view the letter this coalition sent to Assemblywoman Brownley in early May.
