Proposition 30 was approved by the voters of California on November 6, 2012 and is expected to generate between $6 billion and $9 billion in revenues annually through 2017-18. The funds are deposited and distributed from a special account established by the initiative called the Education Protection Account (EPA). Proposition 30 added Article XIII, Section 36 to the California Constitution which not only impacts cash flow patterns in school districts but also has an accountability component.
The Proposition provides that all K-14 local agencies have the sole authority to determine how the funds received from the EPA are spent, but with the following provisions:
- The spending plan must be approved by the governing board during a public meeting
- EPA funds cannot be used for the salaries or benefits of administrators or any other administrative costs (as determined through the account code structure)
- Each year, the local agency must publish on its website an accounting of how much money was received from the EPA and how the funds were expended
Moreover, EPA dollars will reduce the state’s obligation to fund state aid only to the extent that EPA dollars offset state aid as per the Local Control Funding Formula calculation. The amount projected is subject to change based on the state adopting its budget.