The war funding, summer jobs, education jobs and other appropriations bill passed the House of Representatives before they took their July 4^th break. The U.S. Senate will not take up the bill until they return next week after their July 4^th break. Because the Pentagon needs the war funding, the Senate is expected to act in the next two weeks. President Obama has threatened to veto the bill because $800 million from his reform proposals (Race to the Top and Charter Schools) is being used to help pay for the $10 billion education jobs provision.  Some Democratic Senators are in agreement with the President, so expect more conflict before the final actions. California K-12 would receive about $1.2 billion if the full $10 billion were provided. 

California Budget Still in Limbo

The Democratic plan is a series of principles, the Governor’s plan is a series of cuts and the Republicans have no detailed plan other than supporting most but not all (oppose the new revenue parts) of the Governor’s proposal. The Legislature will wait until they have better state fiscal information and hope for new federal funding to help close the $17.9 billion gap. At this point a late August or early September state budget is looking more probable but I can hope that an agreement will be reached sooner.