Newsom’s charter school funding proposal could strip millions from 5 Bay Area counties

SANTA CLARA COUNTY may lose millions of property tax dollars to charter schools while teetering on the edge of a fiscal cliff.

That could happen under a law change that Gov. Gavin Newsom wants approved to tackle the state’s own cash-strapped budget this year. It stems from a yearslong fight between the state and five Bay Area counties whose high property values have brought in more than enough tax dollars to fund public schools — leaving an excess for other public services. But state officials say those counties have wrongfully excluded charter schools from this pot of cash, leaving the state on the hook.