San Diego Unified School District News Releases: SD UNIFIED SUPERINTENDENT REACTS TO EDUCATION FUNDING IN GOVERNOR’S BUDGET

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact:

James Canning, jcanning@sandi.net, 313-580-2845

SD UNIFIED SUPERINTENDENT REACTS TO EDUCATION FUNDING IN GOVERNOR'S BUDGET

District Wants Governor to Fully Appropriate Remaining $5.6B in Proposition 98 Funding

SAN DIEGO (JANUARY 9, 2026) – San Diego Unified School District's Superintendent is encouraged by Governor Gavin Newsom's total investment in public education, but the district is urging the governor to spend all available Proposition 98 on students instead of withholding $5.6 billion.

"We are encouraged by the investments Governor Newsom is making in our public schools and appreciate his administration listening to school districts about what we need. Now the real work begins to determine how it affects our district's upcoming budget," said Superintendent Fabi Bagula, Ph.D., San Diego Unified School District. "We understand the importance of cautious budgeting, but the proposition 98 funds should be fully appropriated, and we are urging him to do so."

San Diego Unified leaders are currently determining how the discretionary block grant funding, continued investment in Community Schools, support for educators, and the $509 billion in ongoing Proposition 98 funds to support Special Education will support our district.

Earlier this year, Superintendent Bagula, along with parents of special education students outlined a new direction for special education services, and advocate for more federal and state funding for the woefully inadequate funding San Diego Unified receives for special education. The district spends more than $400 million annually on special education but only receives approximately $125 million from state and local funding sources, which also includes just $30 million from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

In December, San Diego Unified joined seven large California urban school districts to urge Governor Newsom to make sustained and strategic investments for public schools in the 2026-27 state budget, including:

Invest in Special Education and Behavioral Supports: Increase funding support for students with moderate and severe disabilities and invest in early learning behavioral supports.
Fully Fund the Proposition 98 Guarantee: Ensure all of the state's 2026-27 protected education funding is used to support students and public schools as intended.
Use One-Time Funds to Eliminate Deferrals and Increase Local Flexibility: Eliminate prior-year payment deferrals and fully fund the Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant. Any remaining funds should be provided to districts with maximum flexibility through a higher-than-required COLA or a discretionary block grant to sustain effective local programs and close achievement gaps.
Strengthen and Increase Investments in the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF): Fund the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) above the statutory minimum to help districts manage rising costs for health care, pensions, insurance, and labor agreements—especially as declining enrollment diminishes the impact of the COLA; and modernize LCFF because current low-income thresholds no longer capture the needs of many California families.
Provide Relief for Immigration-Related Impacts: Urge the State to mitigate the fiscal effects disruptions from federal immigration enforcement are having on schools.

The other school districts that authored the letter were Fresno Unified, Los Angeles Unified, Long Beach Unified, Oakland Unified, Santa Ana Unified, San Bernardino City Unified, and San Francisco Unified. Read the letter here.

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