Urging the Legislature to Release Prop 98 Settle-Up Funds

Dear Chair Alvarez and Members of the Subcommittee, As a lead delegate to the Oakland Unified School District's LCAP **Parent and Student Advisory Committee**, and elected Chair of the **School Site Council** at Peralta Elementary in Oakland, I am writing to urge the Subcommittee to **support the full release of Proposition 98 settle-up funds for use in the 2026-2027 budget**. The Governor's January budget revises the Prop 98 guarantee at **$121.4 billion**, but appropriates only **$115.9 billion** — deferring **$5.6 billion of constitutionally guaranteed funds** for public schools in our state. While Prop 98 settle up funds have been withheld (for three consecutive years now), districts across the state (including ours) are facing **dire financial conditions**. While OUSD and its community is coming to terms with the need to reduce structural deficits, several factors outside of our control, **including the costs of labor and healthcare benefits** in California, have an immediate, outsized impact on this fiscal crisis; **the proposed 2.41% COLA falls far short of actual cost growth** (CalPERS premiums rose 8.21%, with inflation in California at ~3.5%), while **enrollment declines statewide decrease our funding** overall. It is impossible for districts and their families to make responsible multi-year plans that center the well-being of our students when **the constitutional guarantee that makes up the bulk of our funding is perennially, arbitrarily deferred**. After several months of research and participation in discussions with the board, district stakeholders and families, I believe that I have a wide view of how OUSD came to where it stands today. **We surely have to make and endure many hard decisions to repair our district.** I can tell you that the hard work is going on right now, as we try and work together to make difficult choices, and a lack of funding in the short term is threatening to turn our work into an **ugly fight between neighbors over scarce resources**. These deferred, one-time funds guaranteed to our school districts cannot be better spent than **investing in our ability to re-structure right now**. I **respectfully** and **urgently** ask the Subcommittee to release the full $5.6 billion in settle-up funds, oppose further deferrals, and require that any future holdbacks go to the Prop 98 Reserve as recommended by the LAO. I am only one of many people trying to do our part to support meaningful reform and accountability around spending in our district. **We simply need the state to honor its constitutional commitment to our children.** Respectfully submitted, Matt Glaser Lead Delegate to PSAC, OUSD