Another Run at Repealing School Contracting Restrictions
Legislation has been introduced to repeal SB 1419, which severely restricted the ability of local K-12 and community college districts to contract out for personal services. Since the passage of SB 1419 in 2002, five bills have been introduced in an effort to repeal its provisions. Those bills have failed passage despite the support of Governor Schwarzenegger, who even included the repeal of SB 1419 in his proposed 2004-05 State Budget.
Assembly Member John Benoit (R-Palm Desert) is now making another run at repealing SB 1419 with the introduction of AB 2024. AB 2024 would authorize community college and K-12 school districts to contract out for any noninstructional services. The intent is to restore the local control and flexibility previously enjoyed by local districts.
Assembly Member Benoit believes that the loss of local control and flexibility is proving to be a costly burden for schools. Sacramento Bee columnist Daniel Weintraub described SB 1419 as an example “of the kind of bureaucratic water torture that Sacramento is increasingly inflicting upon public schools and which the schools can no longer afford to absorb” (2/18/03 Sacramento Bee article).
It has been reported that, due to SB 1419, many school districts are spending between 10% and 40% more than necessary to provide noninstructional services. As a result, when budgets are tight and cuts must be made, service to the classroom will suffer.
According to the Coalition for Local Control of School Spending, schools could save up to $300 million in noninstructional spending costs by repealing SB 1419 and allowing for performance-based competition between professional noninstructional service providers. Savings could be realized through increased efficiency and be immediately redirected to instructional programs.
AB 2024 is scheduled for hearing in the Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security on April 19, 2006. The author will have a tough time getting the bill out of a committee with a Democrat majority that has denied the passage of similar bills in the past.
