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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

LAO wants to redirect QEIA funds | Thoughts on Public Education

LAO wants to redirect QEIA funds | Thoughts on Public Education:

LAO wants to redirect QEIA funds

Leg. Analyst says state should get leftovers
By Kathryn Baron

Nearly 30 percent of California schools funded under the Quality Education Investment Act, or QEIA, may be expelled from the program at the end of this academic year for not meeting one or more of the requirements. That could leave up to $140 million in QEIA funds on the table – money the Legislative Analyst says the state should use to fill in the gaps in other educational programs.

There’s one barrier to the proposal: the QEIA law forbids it. SB 1133, introduced in 2006 by former state senator and current State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, requires that any funds left over when schools are removed from the program stay in the program. The money would be divided among the remaining schools for cost-of-living and