Black California voters want to see more money for lowest performing students, survey says

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BLACK VOTERS SAY MORE MONEY IS NEEDED FOR EDUCATION

A strong majority of Black California voters believe that the Legislature has a responsibility to provide more funding to schools for the lowest performing students, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Black in School Coalition.

“The fact that 84% of those surveyed want education funding to target lowest performing students in California speaks volumes, and we need to see action from the Legislature,” said Adonai Mack, senior director of education at Children Now, in a statement.

Survey firm Applecart polled 1,199 Black California voters on the subject of education, with a margin of error of 3.24%, and found that 71% believe that allocating additional money based on student performance would improve education for Black students, while 93% said that chronic absenteeism is an urgent problem for California schools to address.

Fewer than a third, 27%, believe that Gov. Gavin Newsom is doing a good enough job to improve education outcomes for Black students.

Meanwhile, a third of Black voters believe that Black students receive a lower quality education than their non-Black peers, and that schools with mostly Black students are not properly funded.

A third of those surveyed also believe that Black students are not graduating ready for college, that student discipline is too severe, that there is a lack of focused attention on the educational needs of Black students and that Black students face racial discrimination, according to a statement from the coalition.

BLACK WOMEN REPORT NUMEROUS SETBACKS TO INCOME EQUALITY

Nearly half of Black California women polled believe that racism and discrimination have limited their ability to earn money, in a survey shared Tuesday.

Two out of five Black women work multiple jobs yet face significant challenges to meeting basic expenses, the survey found

The poll was commissioned by the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute and conducted by the firm EVITARUS, which surveyed 1,258 Black women voters across the state with a margin of error of 2.76%.

“Black women in California and around the country are struggling socially and economically while serving as primary breadwinners of their households,” said institute President Kellie Todd Griffin in a statement. “The results are sobering and paint a picture of the pressures that threaten Black women’s stability and financial security.”

More than two-thirds, 77%, of Black women said that they have not saved up enough money for retirement, while 70% said they struggle to make ends meet.

Two-thirds of Black women surveyed said they have difficulty dealing with stress, with a third saying that they have experienced emotional or psychological abuse sometime over the last year.

More than eight out of 10 Black women listed equal pay, affordable housing and health care, protection from violence, fresh healthy food and expanded mental health services as top policy priorities.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“When we talk about homelessness, we are not talking about ‘them;’ we are talking about ‘us:’ our family members, our neighbors, sometimes even our co-workers.”

- Assemblyman James Ramos, D-San Bernardino, in a statement.

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• A fight over homelessness between Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho and city officials is escalating, via Theresa Clift.

• The city of Sacramento has violated a federal court order temporarily barring it from clearing homeless encampments during a heat wave, via Theresa Clift.

• A record number of first-year California residents were admitted to University of California schools this year — and 38% of them are Latino, according to preliminary data released Tuesday, via Sonora Slater.

• Another Southern California school district is considering adoption of a policy that would require school staff to out transgender students to their parents, via Andrew Sheeler.

• California’s public health agency is filled with vacancies. Is it ready for the next pandemic? Via Maggie Angst, Maya Miller and Phillip Reese.

• “Sense of mission.” California’s new gas price watchdog known for taking on economic crimes, via Stephen Hobbs.

This story was originally published August 9, 2023 at 4:55 AM.