Quick Facts
By Shelly Tillery
SSDA Quick Facts
- Founded in 1983
- Original Founders: Don Brann, David Evans, Ray Edman and Emerson Hall
- First Executive Committee (Governing Board) Meeting - March 25, 1983
- 1984 SSDA Member Districts - 4
- 1993 SSDA Member Districts - 475
- 2007 SSDA Member Districts -411
- 2007 SSDA Associate (Business) Members -98
- First SSDA Officers selected, May 9, 1983
- Chairman - Dave Evans
- Vice-Chairman - Ray Edman
- Secretary - Greg Hearn
- Treasurer - Don Brann
- First Issues Tackled in 1983
- Exemption from Teacher / Administration Ratio
- Inflation Calculation of Revenue Limit
- Transportation Joint Powers Savings
- Cost of Living Adjustment
1984
- Secured waiver of deferred maintenance hardship repayments for small districts
- Increased funding for small districts school bus replacement
1985
- Expanded waivers for deferred maintenance hardship repayments to be retroactive
- Secured additional funding for emergency classrooms
- Secured full funding of school district deficits including deficits for necessary small schools
- Developed proposals to strengthen services offered to small districts by county offices
1986
- Developed coordinated statewide effort seeking restoration of Small District Transportation Aid
- Enactment of administrative cost allowance for small district capital outlay applications through SB 327
- Secured minimum allocation for summer school grants for districts with less than 500 ADA
- Creation of State Superintendent's Small District Advisory Committee
1987
- Fully funded small school district transportation aid and built into revenue limit to protect against subsequent governor's vetoes
- Worked on successful campaign of Proposition 98 to protect school finance
1988
- Participated in the decisions to allocate the new Proposition 98 revenue
1989
- Provision for funding (1987) and annual cost-of-living adjustment (1989) for small districts to apply for school building aid ($5,500 per new construction project and $1,500 per rehabilitation project)
1990
- School construction priority for very small school districts which cannot adopt year-round school schedules. Developed an expanded small school district alternative for state school construction aid priorities for districts with year-round schools
- Passage of Senate Bill 823 (Chapter 1135/90) which protects the special education service unit allocations in small and rural special education plan areas and forms the base for expanded funding
1991
- Developed an expanded small school district alternative for state school construction aid priorities for districts with year-round schools
- Developed modifications to the California Energy Commission application for school bus replacement grants to increase number of school buses to small school districts
1992
- Reserved $49 million in school construction aid for small school district construction projects which would not have been funded otherwise
- Sponsored AB 2368 (Chapter 236/Statutes of 1992) to allow very small districts to give first and second year probationary notice of non-reelection without having to give a reason (Same law as for larger districts)
1993
- Enactment of Assembly Bill 1256 (Costa) to provide small school districts with planning loans for state school construction projects
- Introduction of major school transportation ($50 million) and school bus replacement ($100 million) funding legislation
1994
- Enactment and continuation of approximately $5 million in deferred maintenance hardship grants for 1994-95
- Successful amendments to legislation to either exempt small districts from penalties or protect small districts from unnecessary paperwork
1995
- Passage of Senate Bill 120 (Costa), the first school transportation equalization legislation to be enacted in the 1990's
- Successfully amended AB 922 (Friedman) to ensure increased funding for small school district alternative education programs
1996
- $35 million for school bus replacemnet
- $24,000 minimum site-based grants
- $50 million for deferred maintenance critical hardship projects
- $46 million for home-to-school transportation equalization
- $25,000 minimum per district for roofing project funds from OPSC and Proposition 203 funds
1997
- Deferred Maintenance Critical Hardship Funds. Approximately $13.6 million was allocated for supplemental deferred maintenance funding for small district critical hardship projects
- Digital High School Education Technology Grants. This program provides grants to high schools for technology. The program was amended to ensure that small high schools competed against similar sized schools for the grants rather than competing against large high schools. The program was also amended to have large high schools funded at $300 per pupil while small high schools could be funded at up to $1,000 per pupil with a minimum of $25,000 per selected small high school.
- Small School District Bus Replacement. The budget continued the $4 million annual appropriation to replace the oldest and most used pre-1977 small school district and county office school buses. These funds were exempted and continue for small school districts from the legislation which would have consolidated numerous categorical aid programs.
1998
- Special Funding for single-school school districts for laptop computers
- Minimum grants for after school programs
- $42 million for unfunded 1997-98 CSR facilities
1999
- $7,500 application grants for each new construction project for small school districts participating in the School Facilities Program
- $2,500 application grants for each new modernization project for small school districts participating in the School Facilities Program
- Over $20 million for deferred maintenance critical hardship projects
2000
- Relief from class size penalties for very small school districts
- $10,000 minimum site based grants
- Participated in the Education Coalition to full fund revenue limit deficit and increase summer school reimbursement
2001
- Sponsored AB 303 to provide more funding to necessary small school special education local plan areas with declining enrollment
- $40 million for revenue limit equalization and enactment of AB 441
- AB 1295 allowed very small schools to participate in the Governor's Performance Award Program
2002
- Developed the political coalition to commit through AB 3003; $406 million for full revenue limit equalization was funded in the 2003-04 state budget
- Only statewide organization to support equalization aid as a requirement to the state budget deal, resulting in AB 2187 - including more than $100 million equalization aid
- Sponsored, developed the trigger for pass through, and amended the language of AB 1907 Special Education federal funds
2003
- Successfully advocated for full payment of 2002-03 categorical aid deferrals and a reduction in 2003-04 deferrals
- Successfully advocated for categorical aid flexibility for 2002-03 ending balances, re-selection of supplemental grant allocations, and supported SB 525 (Karnette) for categorical block grants
- Guaranteed $20 million for small district deferred maintenance critical hardship projects
- Small school district bus replacement funding protected
2004
- Guaranteed full COLA and growth for home-to-school transportation
- Small districts allowed to file mandate reimbursement claims for costs of greater than $200 rather than the current law $1,000
- Increased funding for services to direct service school districts
- Expanded funding for school bus replacement
2005
- Full COLA for all programs
- Full enrollment growth funding for all programs
- Full pass-through for federal special education funds
- Increased amount allotted in budget for school bus replacement funding to $30 million
2006
- $350 million for School District Revenue Limit Equalization including separate equalization for very small school districts
- $350 million for Economic Impact Aid with a special small school district provision
- $534 million for Discretionary Block Grant (75% school sites / 25% district) with small site and district minimums
- $200 million for Middle School and High School Counselors and CAHSEE Early Intervention with small school district guaranteed minimums
- Co-sponsored adopted bill AB 2149 that increased funding by almost 30% per pupil to address rising costs for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act
