(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance released the following statement in response to Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed 2017-18 state budget.
“Governor Brown’s cautious budget proposal makes modest increases in P-14 education spending and furthers the Legislature’s commitment to increase enrollment and affordability at our higher education institutions,” said Assemblymember McCarty. “As Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance, I will be focused on our efforts to fully fund our K-12 schools, build and diversify our education workforce and prioritize California student enrollment in the Community College, CSU and UC systems.”
“There are areas of the proposed education budget that do cause me concern,” continued McCarty. “The Governor’s proposed suspension of increased funding for preschool, childcare and other early childhood education programs and the elimination of the Middle Class Scholarship Program will hurt middle class families. This is not a time to eliminate important programs that lift up the middle class. Instead, we need to be advocating for these programs and others that are critical to helping California build a strong, sustainable and globally competitive workforce. I look forward to working with my legislative colleagues and the public in the coming months to craft a fiscally responsible budget that affirms our commitment to public education, quality early education and access to affordable higher education for all Californians.”
Governor Brown’s $179.5 billion budget includes proposed K-12 spending of $52.3 billion and proposed higher education spending of $15 billion in 2017-18. A summary of Governor Brown’s full budget proposal can be viewed here: http://ebudget.ca.gov/FullBudgetSummary.pdf.
Kevin McCarty represents California’s 7th Assembly District, which include the cities and communities of Antelope, Elverta, North Highlands, Rio Linda, Sacramento and West Sacramento.