California’s education spending has risen substantially in the past decade, bolstered by growing revenues, recovery from the Great Recession, and pandemic-era state and federal investments. Recognizing the central role teachers play in student performance, the state has invested over $1 billion in additional funding to address teacher staffing and preparation in recent years. However, California’s schools continue to face academic and fiscal challenges. Tracking recent trends in district staff spending and student-teacher ratios, as well as teacher credentials and experience, can inform efforts to address these challenges.

Increased school spending has had a modest effect on teacher staffing

Roughly 80% of California’s school spending goes toward salaries and benefits—and teachers are by far the largest single staffing category. But while instructional salary spending has grown substantially in recent years—rising by nearly $2,000 per student (42%) since 2012–13—other areas have seen even sharper increases. Instructional salaries have declined as a share of overall spending (40% to 33%), while the shares of spending on benefits (19% to 22%) and other spending (21% to 25%) have increased.

Since the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in 2013–14, districts with more high-need students had larger increases in funding. These districts saw relative increases in the share of fully credentialed teachers, but also in the share of less-experienced teachers; relative class sizes were unchanged.

Schools with lower shares of credentialed or fully authorized teachers disproportionately serve low-income students. Roughly a quarter of students attend schools where at least 20% of teachers are not fully credentialed or are teaching subjects outside of their formal authorizations; these schools tend to serve higher shares of low-income students.

Teachers in math and science courses are less likely to be correctly assigned and credentialed. One in ten middle and high school students attends a school where less than half of math teachers and under 41% of science teachers are correctly assigned and credentialed—compared to 60% for other subjects. In the schools with relatively low shares of correctly assigned math and science teachers, two-thirds of students are low-income, compared to about half in schools with the highest shares.

Policy Implications

Targeted funding increases may not be enough to support teacher staffing in high-need districts. LCFF funding increases in higher-need districts have so far had little impact on many teacher staffing metrics. While prior research has found that targeted spending increases improved student outcomes, policy efforts that specifically address staffing may be needed to further boost the teaching workforce and student outcomes.

Efforts to address teacher staffing challenges should focus on specific schools that are persistently hard to staff. Many schools have teachers with substandard qualifications, particularly in math and science. Efforts tailored to specific schools—often those in lower-income communities serving higher-need students—could be more effective than broad-based strategies such as funding formula allocations.

Addressing lagging teacher salaries could help improve outcomes. Inflation-adjusted salaries have increased for the average teacher, but inflation-adjusted starting salaries are no higher than they were in the early 2000s. More teachers are also at the lower end of the pay scale. Raising starting salaries could help strengthen recruitment and retention, though this would have to be balanced against other budget priorities.