Tony Thurmond is California’s 28th and current State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He has been a lifelong educator, public school parent, and public servant who has served the people of California for sixteen years in elected office. At every step, Tony has kept California's kids as his top priority. He knows how to get things done and get results.
With greater funding, there must also be greater transparency and accountability. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was created through landmark education funding legislation in 2013 that returned spending decisions to communities and makes sure that school districts with the greatest number of high-need students get more resources to support those students. We must have oversight of the LCFF to ensure funding is going where it is supposed to go – directly to students and the programs that benefit them – while streamlining the bureaucracy faced by school districts. LCFF funding data must be made available online so the public can see how their tax dollars are being spent. Publicly available, easily accessible data will help keep public officials accountable and allow school districts to learn best practices from high performing districts throughout the state. By providing necessary resources, we can empower County Offices of Education, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, and the California Department of Education to support districts in need of improvement. Data from the LCFF will also allow the public to hold school districts accountable for treating all students equally. And if a district is underserving a particular student group, this data will help inform the changes that need to be made to build equity in communities, as intended by the LCFF. We should also continue to empower students to hold their schools accountable. Last year Governor Jerry Brown signed into law my legislation, AB 261, which guarantees students in high school have a vote and a voice on their school district governing boards. As Superintendent, I will: â— Conduct a comprehensive review of the LCFF to ensure that funding is spent as efficiently and effectively as possible â— Ensure all LCFF funding data is available online so the public can see how their tax dollars are being spent, and provide schools and districts with clear, easy to use systems to provide data â— Continue my efforts to empower young people to have a voice in policies related to their public education