Newsom’s Education Legacy: Rising Costs, Declining Performance

By Sheridan Karras, Lance Christensen
01/23/2026
Earlier this month, Governor Gavin Newsom submitted his proposed 2026-27 budget to the legislature, weighing in at nearly $349 billion. His budget plan came one day after he gave the last State of the State address of his term, in which he touted California’s “record-breaking” education spending. Newsom painted California as a model for “nation-leading...

TAGS: California budget, california education budget, California state budget, education, education spending

The $137 Billion Question: What Are California’s Schools Delivering?

By Sheridan Karras
09/04/2025
With schools back in session and the state budget finalized, the question of what California spends on public education — and what it delivers in return — is at the forefront of many parents’ and taxpayers’ minds. California has among the highest per-pupil spending in the nation, but questions persist about whether California families are...

TAGS: academic performance, education, education budget, education spending, student performance

Enormous Amounts of Money Flow into the Bottomless Education Pit

By Larry Sand
08/26/2022
This article originally appeared on frontpagemag.com   Spurred by the Covid panic, schools have been the recipient of ungodly sums of money. And it’s not as if the beast was starving before. To put things into perspective, the U.S. spends about $800 billion on national defense, more than China, Russia, India, the U.K., France, Saudi...

TAGS: California public education, California teachers unions, education reform, education spending, teachers

Schools for Scandal

By Larry Sand
11/03/2020
As shown by the 2019 NAEP, most of our students are being badly shortchanged. The latest bad education news comes to us courtesy of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The most recent exam was administered to high school seniors in early 2019, a full year before the COVID-19 lockdowns. The so-called “Nation’s Report...

TAGS: collective bargaining, education spending, Greg Forster, Larry Sand, NAEP, Neal McCluskey, Randi Weingarten, school choice, seniority, teachers union, tenure

The NEA’s massive money grab

By Larry Sand
06/23/2020
Using Covid-19 as an excuse, the teachers union wants you to “invest” more in education; historical data put things into perspective, however. Last week I reported on the American Federation of Teachers plea for more money to flow into government-run schools because of the Covid-19 crisis. Not to be outdone, the National Education Association has...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, Benjamin Scafidi, Corey DeAngelis, education spending, Just Facts, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Rick Hess, teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles

Leveling with Louie on education funding

By Larry Sand
02/18/2020
A recent chat with my cousin illuminates the chasm between fact and fantasy. After a recent post in which I detailed California’s abuse of taxpayers, I got a call from my cousin Louie, an aging Hollywood screenwriter. Known as the “red sheep” of the family, he firmly believes that pouring more money into government schools...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, education spending, James Agresti, Lance Izumi, Larry Sand, National Assessment of Educational Progress, Pacific Research Institute, Prop. 13, Reason Foundation, Richard Rider, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Los Angeles School District Needs a Hard Reset

By Larry Sand
02/04/2020
LAUSD and UTLA leaders are leading us down the road to financial ruin. A few weeks ago, I wrote that tax-grabbing state bureaucrats were pushing hard-working Californians to the brink. Incompetence, mismanaged money and union greed have turned the formerly Golden State into a failing enterprise. Here, I will focus on the Los Angeles Unified...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, Austin Beutner, Dan Walters, education spending, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, NAEP, Prop. 13, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Montana, SCOTUS, and your kids

By Larry Sand
12/17/2019
Americans are losing confidence that public schools will improve, but a Supreme Court case could pave the way to greater parental choice. A recent in-depth survey by RealClearPolitics concludes that a majority of registered voters are dissatisfied with the performance of America’s education system and “have little confidence that public schools will improve any time...

TAGS: Blaine Amendment, education spending, Larry Sand, National Assessment of Educational Progress, PISA, school choice, tax-credit scholarships, teachers union, Trinity Lutheran Church v. Pauley, Zelman v. Simmons-Harris

Will UTLA endorse socialist Bernie Sanders?

By Larry Sand
11/05/2019
The L.A. teachers union may officially support Bernie Sanders for president next week. Back in September, the United Teachers of Los Angeles board of directors began a process to endorse Bernie Sanders for president, and on November 14th there will be a formal vote by the union’s House of Representatives. UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl is...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, Bernie Sanders, Charter schools, education spending, Elizabeth Warren, James Agresti, Just Facts, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, socialism, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Elizabeth Warren’s “No Teachers Union Left behind” Campaign

By Larry Sand
10/30/2019
Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren used to be a Republican, a Native American and pro-school choice. Now she is a Democrat, a Caucasian and anti-choice teacher union suck-up. As I wrote back in May, the Democratic presidential contenders were battling each other fiercely to score the endorsement of the nation’s teachers unions. The anointment comes with...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Charter Schools Association, Center for Education Reform, Charter schools, Chris Stewart, education spending, Elizabeth Warren, Jeanne Allen, Larry Sand, Myrna Castrejón, Randi Weingarten, school choice, teachers union, Thomas Kane

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