$20 Million in Quality Education Investment Act Funds Coming to OC Starting This Week

Assemblyman Jose Solorio's (D-Anaheim) call to California's Superintendent of Schools Jack O'Connell to release Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA) funds immediately apparently has paid off. Sources confirm that the allocated funds to California's lowest performing schools will begin to roll out this week.

"In a recent letter to the superintendent, I made it clear that those funds should go out now. I'm happy the matter seems to be resolved. If my cajoling the superintendent to act had anything to do with it, then I did my job. The important thing is that the schools have their funding," said Assemblyman Solorio.

QEIA is a comprehensive effort to improve the conditions in the California schools that face the enormous challenges that result from high percentages of low-income, minority and English-learning students. This budget year, AB 56 X3 was signed into law stating, "The sum of $355,000,000 shall be allocated by the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the 2009-10 fiscal year to school sites selected to participate in the QEIA program."

In the hope that the program would benefit from federal stimulus funds, the Superintendent delayed cutting QEIA checks, forcing designated schools to borrow or go without until this month.

County school districts are expecting $20 million in QEIA funds. Below is the QEIA fund allocation breakdown:

Anaheim Union High School District  - $6.2 million

Capistrano Unified School District - $ .4 million

Fullerton Elementary School District - $ .5 million

Orange Unified School District - $1.8 million

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District - $1.8 million

Santa Ana Unified School District - $1.8 million

The Quality Education Investment Act of 2006 implemented the Proposition 98 settlement agreement between the California Teacher's Association, et al. v. Schwarzenegger, et al. The agreement earmarked $3 billion over seven years to 488 low-performing schools in California. To fund the QEIA Program for 2009-10, legislation redirected $355 million in Proposition 98 funds from certain categorical programs and an additional $20 million in unspent Proposition 98 funds from prior years.

State Assemblyman Jose Solorio is the Chair of the Assembly Insurance Committee and serves on the Assembly Education, Transportation, and Appropriations committees. He represents the Sixty-Ninth Assembly District, which includes the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove, and Santa Ana. For more information about Assemblyman Solorio, visit www.assembly.ca.gov/solorio.