A projected increase in tax revenues on AI employees “extraordinary salaries” and soaring stock prices for companies, like Google, Meta and Nvidia, could mean billions more for schools and community colleges.
BODY: That’s according to an annual budget forecast by the state’s Legislative Analysts Office, or LAO, of the 2026-27 budget.
EdSource reports the LAO projects an increase of more than two percent in tax revenue, which would increase funding for schools and colleges to nearly seven-and-a-half billion dollars.But there is a caveat to the projection.
The LAO cautions that these projections do not include the possibility of a downturn in AI stock prices, a recession, possibilities that could leave the state budget with billions of dollars less.
Most of California’s school districts and colleges are facing fiscal pressures, because of a number of factors. These include higher expenses, declining student enrollment and chronic student absences.
