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Proposition 2 funding and staff requested to implement new school facilities programs
Summary
The governor’s budget proposes $1.5 billion in Proposition 2 bond authority for the School Facilities Program and additional positions for the Office of Public School Construction to implement program changes approved by voters; OPSC said the law grandfathered applications received before Oct. 31, 2024.
The Senate Budget Subcommittee 1 heard that the Governor’s budget includes $1.5 billion in Proposition 2 bond authority for the School Facilities Program (SFP) in 2025‑26 and requests staff and administrative authority so the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) can implement program changes approved in Proposition 2.
Alex Anaya Velasquez of the Department of Finance explained that Proposition 2, approved by voters in November, authorized $8.5 billion in state general obligation bonds for K‑12 school facilities with new programmatic set‑asides and changes that took effect Oct. 31, 2024. Under the new structure, roughly $4 billion is allocated for modernization, $3.3 billion for new construction, $600 million for charter schools and $600 million for career technical education projects.
OPSC’s executive officer, Rebecca Kirk, said the ballot measure included provisions to grandfather any application received on or before Oct. 30, 2024 under the prior statutory rules; applications received on or after Oct. 31, 2024 are subject to the new Proposition 2 rules. Kirk said the requested positions (16 total, 14 for OPSC) and expenditure authority are needed to administer the newly authorized bond and the program changes.
Why it matters: Voter approval of Proposition 2 restores a multi‑year bond funding stream for school modernization and construction after a period when annual General Fund allocations temporarily supported projects. Department of Finance and OPSC said the requested staff will allow the program to maintain an application processing rate roughly consistent with historical levels (about $1.5 billion in applications per year) and to implement the new program rules.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office said it had no specific concerns with the administration request and that additional positions would be sufficient to process applications at near‑historic rates.
Ending: OPSC noted it will operate with two processing tracks — one for applications grandfathered under prior law and one under the new Proposition 2 rules — and said the $8.5 billion authorization would be expended over multiple years if application rates remain at recent historic levels.
