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Third graders at Webster Elementary School study government on a Friday afternoon. The school is the only one in the district with a 20:1 student teacher ratio thanks to a grant for which they were chosen at random. (Brittany Murray / Staff Photographer)
CALIFORNIA EDUCATION SPENDING: 49th in the nation: Main story | Los Angeles | Long Beach | South Bay
LONG BEACH -- The state is ranked 49th in the nation in per-pupil spending, but that figure doesn't mean the education system is failing students, a Long Beach Unified School District official says.
California's position at the back of class is based on the annual January report by Education Week.
"It's one piece of data," said Jim Novak, the district's chief business and financial officer. "But at the end of the day, what matters is, are you getting the results you need?"
Novak and the district, the third largest in the state behind Los Angeles and San Diego, have seen overall student Academic Performance Index (API) scores steadily rise over the years as state funding to the district has been slashed, which has caused the district to make numerous cuts.
Since 2008, the district's API scores have increased 43 points -- from 741 to 784. During that same time, the district's scores also have inched closer to the state average, which was 754 in 2008 and 791 in 2012, according to California Department of Education data.
Meanwhile, since 2008, the district has cut more
than $300 million and 1,000 jobs.The biggest cuts since 2008 include approximately 800 layoffs in 2011, most of them teachers.
The district has also increased class sizes and eliminated administrators, librarians, nurses, psychologists, counselors and support staff.
Novak says he is pleased with the increased API scores, but cautions against trying to make an exclusive correlation between funding and academic performance.
"You have to look at more things. You can't isolate the two," Novak said. "It's not the be-all and end-all to fund schools. Funding is important, but you have to consider the teachers, class size, school conditions."
The district is expecting about $19 million in new funds from the state for the 2013-2014 fiscal year thanks primarily to passage of Proposition 30.
The school board will discuss the new funding in the coming weeks, although Novak says paying down the district's $22 deficit is at the top of the list.
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