Many teaching advocates were giddy when they awoke Wednesday. Not only had Proffer 30 passed, with its promise of nearly $7 billion in new funding for schools and community colleges, only in an unexpected outcome, Democrats won supermajorities, two-thirds of the seats in both the State Assembly and Senate. It was like hoping for a pony on your altogether and instead finding a horse with a giant bow effectually its neck.

Gov. Brown discusses the post-Prop 30 world in a press conference Wednesday. (click to enlarge)

Gov. Chocolate-brown discusses the post-Prop 30 world in a press briefing Wednesday. (click to enlarge)

Democrats had been optimistic that they could capture the 27 Autonomous seats in the 40-seat Senate, but 54 in the lxxx-seat Assembly appeared a stretch. But on Wed, Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John Perez proclaimed ­– and Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff, in a statement, agreed – that the Democrats got both. It would exist the starting time fourth dimension in 80 years that one political party had a supermajority, and that time, in 1933, information technology was the Republicans. (Democrats take the lead in four of 5 close Associates contests.)

With a supermajority, Democrats can override a gubernatorial veto, and they can pass a tax or put a tax proposal on the ballot. Until at present, they've needed a few Republicans to cross over, and, equally Brown discovered when he tried to negotiate a tax proposal for the ballot last summer, no Republicans would buck the political party's anti-taxation pledge. That's why he was forced to go the initiative route.

"It was a cracking election," gushed Scott Moore, senior policy adviser at Preschool California. "The supermajority is going to allow united states to do some government reforms that are going to exist really of import in bringing the state of California back to economic and social health. It makes information technology governable once again. This land has been ungovernable."

Moore and Preschool California desire lawmakers to restore the nigh $one billion in cuts from state preschool and childcare programs in the past four years that eliminated spots in early learning programs for more than than 100,000 young children.

"This is the beginning of restoring our future and the future hope of California, which is that all children, regardless of who they are and where they grow up, have an opportunity to beginning school ready to learn," Moore said.

He's inappreciably alone. Later four years of big cuts to education, medical care for the poor, day care and preschool funding, advocates will pressure Democrats to heighten more revenue to restore funding. Neb Lucia, CEO of EdVoice, a Sacramento education nonprofit,  said that veteran legislators will at present come frontwards with spending bills that have been shunted aside for years. "They'll say, 'Suggestion 30 passed, so why can't I have my beak?'" he said.

But subsequently an expensive and shut entrada for Proposition 30, Brown, Steinberg, and Perez all sought to tamp downwardly expectations of raising boosted taxes – at least this yr.

While maxim he would not "draw a line in the sand," Brown said at a printing conference, "We have plenty coin and will spend wisely to get from here to the next election." And he repeated his pledge that voters, non the Legislature, will decide whether to raise any boosted taxes.

"Desires will always outrun available money," he said. "You have a machine that tends to become overheated or speed upward. The governor is a mechanism to irksome information technology downward as information technology tends to speed up."

EdVoice had been considering suing the country over deferrals, the nearly $10 billion in tardily payments to schools that disproportionately put a financial squeeze on districts with low-income families. From its standpoint, no new programs should be funded until the state restores on-time payments to schools and "stops using classrooms as an AT machine," to solve its financial bug by borrowing from districts, Lucia said.

A lack of money and a stalemated Legislature have provided an excuse not to make hard choices over spending priorities. Now, Lucia said, "there is an opportunity for an honest conversation."

Lucia, Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, and Jill Wynns, president of the California Schoolhouse Boards Clan, all agree that Brown's goal of reforming education finance could go that priority. The governor has proposed a weighted student formula that would distribute more than money to disadvantaged students. But the districts that would be potential losers under the weighted pupil formula, seeing little increases in per-pupil funding after years of cuts, oppose it. A solution, not yet proposed, would be to raise taxes to fund a elementary, fairer system that'south salable to a public that recognizes that schools remain underfunded. CSBA agrees with the principle of Brown's weighted educatee formula but not the funding formula and the specifics, Wynns said.

"Information technology's no clandestine that our education funding does not match our revenues. With the Democrats firmly in control and the voters conspicuously saying that education is a top priority, information technology'due south actually an opportunity to put California back on track and make united states a leader on education," said Lempert.

Education officials and advocates seem pulled in two directions with the unanticipated twin victories. The angel on i shoulder is whispering that they shouldn't enquire for too much likewise quickly, just the devil on the other shoulder is reminding them of what schools have lost in the past four years and how long their wish lists have grown. "One of the questions that'south asked is are the Democrats going to overreach? I call up when information technology comes to a children's agenda, there's not going to exist whatever pushback and no 1 is going to say it's an overreach to make improvements in teaching, school based health, health insurance," argued Lempert.

The California Teachers Clan, which put millions into passing Proposition xxx, is taking the path of prudence for now. Acknowledging that increased funding for pre-kindergarten through the university organization remains its highest priority, CTA President Dean Vogel said, "I cannot imagine coming back this year" for another taxation increase. And he said that CTA is taking the long view, that it would require 4 to 5 years to build the back up to set up the land'southward caitiff tax system and to show voters that CTA has an agenda that addresses issues they're interested in, such every bit reforming instructor evaluations.

Moore predicted that the new supermajority "is going to open upwards an era of reform where nosotros tin can do a lot of the smart authorities that we've been wanting to practise, whether that's in improving our schools or even in allowing our tax revenues to be less volatile."

Steinberg wouldn't disagree, though he's urging circumspection moving forrad.

"I certainly don't intend to propose to my colleagues that the beginning matter we exercise with out new powers is to get out and seek new taxes," he said in a press conference Wed. "If nosotros talk almost taxes at all, nosotros'll talk about tax reform."

Merely then he also suggested he'd exist looking for ways to restore Denti-Cal, a dental program for adults cut three years ago. His colleagues may take their own lists.

To get more reports similar this ane, click here to sign up for EdSource'southward no-cost daily email on latest developments in teaching.