| No, this is not a myth at all. At least not in California... "State-Provided" funds are calculated by the LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula), which is a combination of both State and Local funds. Depending on the district, if local funds is not enough to fund the district, then yes, state tax revenue steps in to provide the rest. However, for districts where local funds is enough or exceeds the district need, then these these districts (referred to as "Basic Aid" or "Excess Revenue" districts) aren't provided state revenue, and they are able to keep the excess local revenue for their needs. (https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/lc/ and https://www.saratogausd.org/Page/519) For a more specific example, one of the top school districts in Silicon Valley is the Fremont Union High School District (https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1626711559/fuhsdorg/...) In 2021, their total revenue was $169M, where $156M (92%) came from property taxes. This resulted in spending per pupil of $23,491, far exceeding the state medium of $16,042. |