State Superintendent of Instruction Tony Thurmond, who helped lead the “grab and go” meal distribution at Madison Elementary School on Monday, said that, “Just like the pandemic where we provided meals to more than 900 million families in need, I’m grateful to be here today, and help out with family needs.”
California is one of seven states in the US that fund schools based on average daily attendance — the average number of students in class every day throughout the school year — rather than on how many students are signed up to attend at the start of the school year.
Easing the school district fears about losing students, Thurmond added, “Our primary function is to make sure that schools focus on safety first, and not worry about revenue. We will guarantee revenue for every school that’s affected by this.”
Thurmond emphasized, “Oftentimes, revenues are lost when students aren’t in school, and we’re guaranteeing that they will have the revenue regardless of the days that school may have been closed, and if there’s any dip in enrollment, we will also guarantee that their funding is held up for them.”