MVUSD Highlighted at LA Forum for its Use of LCFF Funds for English Learners

The state’s new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) for schools provides teachers, schools and school districts an unprecedented opportunity to creatively address the academic needs of English learners, students from low-income households and foster youth. But, as MVUSD School Board member Jesus Holguín reminded a recent education forum in Los Angeles, that opportunity carries with it an important responsibility. As a featured speaker at a forum entitled, “Seizing the Opportunity to Narrow the Achievement Gaps for English Learners,” Holguín made it clear that through LCFF the state requires districts to use funds generated by this student population to improve their academic achievement. “LCFF allows us to be more innovative,” Holguín explained at the conference, “but it requires that we clearly focus our efforts on students who need the most help, and that includes our English Learners. LCFF has been a welcome development for school districts, but we could lose it if we don’t make good use of it.” The purpose of the forum was to introduce a new tool made available to school districts by the UCLA Civil Rights Project to help guide them through the process of implementing LCFF in order to narrow the achievement gaps. The forum was sponsored by the Civil Rights Project and the California Community Foundation. Holguín was chosen to speak in part because of MVUSD’s highly regarded experience creating its state-mandated Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), which involved extensive community outreach when budgeting funds generated by English Learners and other at-risk students. MVUSD’s successful LCAP process has drawn praise and inquiries from other California school districts. Holguín also represents school board members from across the state as President-elect of the California School Boards Association (CSBA).