An unexpected tide of pandemic-era tax revenue enriching Californiaâs new budget includes benefits for school districts like Napaâs â including a boost to per-pupil state funding and an expansion of kindergarten to eventually cover 4-year-olds.
The 2021-22 state budget that passed last week stands to bolster the Napa Valley Unified School District with education funding that should help NVUSD hold the line against rising expenses while strengthening early literacy efforts for its youngest schoolchildren, according to Rabinder (Rob) Mangewala, the districtâs assistant superintendent for business services.
The education funding, which will total $123.9 billion statewide, is not a cure-all for NVUSDâs budget difficulties, which have largely been driven by steadily eroding enrollment for more than a decade amid rising housing costs. Nonetheless, Mangewala welcomed the sharp turnabout from the Legislatureâs spending cuts in 2020, when a rapid economic shutd