California teachers’ union sues Newsom administration for underfunding public education 

California’s largest teachers’ union has accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of illegally withholding public school funding in a new lawsuit.

The California Teachers Association (CTA) filed a complaint Sept. 15, arguing the state was holding back $6 billion from public education.

“Today, our union of 310,000 educators is fighting back because Gov. Newsom and the Legislature have repeatedly failed to follow the constitution,” CTA President David Goldberg said in a press release. “We are demanding a return of the funds that have been withheld so that our students and communities can be saved from yet another year of devastating educator layoffs and unnecessary cuts.”

The union is citing Proposition 98, a 1988 amendment establishing an annual minimum funding level for public K-12 schools and community colleges.

While the lawsuit doesn’t name Newsom as a defendant, the CTA clearly targeted him in its rhetoric, accusing the governor of playing a “shell game” to withhold “billions of dollars for our public schools.”

“The governor can end this harm to students and communities anytime,” Goldberg concluded. “Return the withheld funds immediately and declare that withholding is a violation of the constitution.”

However, a spokesperson for the California Department of Finance defended the Newsom administration against CTA’s accusations.

In a statement to FOX40, the spokesperson explained that funding is sometimes delayed because tax dollars don’t arrive until after the fiscal year ends.

Additionally, the California Budget & Policy Center noted that when collected revenue is less than estimated, Prop. 98 funding would also be lower than initially proposed.

The spokesperson also rebuked the idea that funding delays would cause layoffs, saying it wouldn’t be a “prudent budgeting practice” to base staff salaries on state funding that “can and does fluctuate.”

While teachers’ unions habitually blame “underfunding” for public education’s problems, the reality is that increasing spending and improved academics rarely go hand in hand.

A 2025 analysis of national test scores found some of the states with the best outcomes – such as Texas and Florida – spent below the national average in per-pupil funding.

Meanwhile, higher spenders, including California, are worse off academically.

The Golden State currently spends nearly $27,000 per student for a total budget of nearly $150 billion.

But in 2024, California’s fourth- and eighth-grade math performance on the NAEP was below the national average, with just 35% of fourth graders and 25% of eighth graders testing at grade level.

Meanwhile, less than 30% of students at both grade levels were proficient in reading.

(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)