California spends hundreds of billions on education but can’t repair schools

California school districts are losing the bond votes they rely on for school repairs. But why do they have to rely on voter-approved bonds when California already spends an obscene amount of money on education (and everything else)?Around three dozen school districts are on pace to lose bond votes at the ballot box, despite school districts up and down the state asking for less money than in previous election cycles, when bonds have passed pretty easily. Such districts on track to fail include Visalia Unified, which was seeking $158 million to begin $600 million in repairs, with 70% of the district’s buildings being 50 years or older. The districts seeing their bonds pass are typically richer districts, giving them access to matching state funds that less wealthy districts will miss out on if their bonds don’t pass. The 86 school districts seeking voter-approved bonds this year were asking for a total of $12.4 billion, which is far lower than the amount requested in the last election cycle. But why must California school districts seek bond money to keep schools from being run-down? California’s 2026-2027 state budget allotted around $149.1 billion in TK-12 education spending. From fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2025, California’s education spending has increased 24.2%, and California spends more than the national average on education.On top of that, California has an overall budget of $351.7 billion, and Californians have the second-highest tax burden in the country, behind only New York. Despite this, California’s education scores are mediocre, ranking 36th in math scores and 38th in reading. California is spending hundreds of billions while raking in money through taxes, and yet somehow the state can’t afford to help schools fund basic repairs without locking the money behind matching funds that require districts to take out bonds (and get voter approval to do so) to use.A $34 MILLION MONUMENT TO CALIFORNIA’S DECLINEIf this sounds familiar, it’s the same issue California faces with road maintenance. Democrats justified a hike in the (still-increasing) gas tax by arguing that those funds were necessary to fix the state’s roads, because the other $350 billion the state spends is reserved for other spending priorities, despite maintaining working roads being one of the top things a state government should prioritize. The same goes for education, where California boasts about how much it prioritizes the issue while leaving school districts to fend for themselves in repairing old infrastructure while the state burns $149 billion on other problems.California leeches a hefty chunk of money from taxpayers and yet fails to perform the most basic government services one would expect, such as keeping roads drivable or making sure school buildings don’t have leaking roofs. California takes so much from its residents through taxes and gives so little in return, and it should call into question every single spending decision that California Democrats make.