California faces budget challenges despite increased state funding for schools. The projected $20,427 per-student state funding does not goAmid ongoing and impending shakeups in federal and state educational leadership, 2026 is a big year for California schools. “The bigger social and political moment that we’re in is really impacting our schools,” said Edgar Zazueta, executive director of the Association of California School Administrators. Zazueta said that because California public schools have a higher percentage of low-income students than in the past, $20,427 per student doesn’t go far. “We need more dollars in this state,” Tuck said.