California is experiencing an educational paradox, according to Herb Morgan, a candidate for state controller — the state's chief fiscal officer, accountant and auditor.The Golden State, Morgan said, has spent billions of dollars educating public school students but has failed to boost educational outcomes despite the influx of taxpayer funds.California’s K-12 education funding rose from $97 billion in 2019 to $151 billion for the current budget cycle, said Morgan, who tracks and lists state expenditures through his "California Radical Transparency" website, a political and financial oversight initiative designed to track and decode state spending.EXPLOSIVE REPORT FINDS $230M IN ALLEGED K-12 EDUCATION FRAUD AMID TRUMP'S CRACKDOWN: 'ESPECIALLY HIDEOUS'Herb Morgan, a candidate for California controller, speaks at an affordability town hall at Hotel Zessa in Santa Ana, Calif., on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.Morgan heavily criticized the spending of billions of dollars on California public schools, despite worse student outcomes.
(MediaNews Group via Getty Images)Per-student spending jumped from $16,300 to $27,400 over that same period, said Morgan, an investment professional."Why is it if we're spending all this money, why aren't we getting the results? It's because we have a broken accountability feature in state finances," Morgan told Fox News Digital.The disconnect between funding and classroom outcomes is not a lack of resources, Morgan said, but a breakdown in financial accountability at the state level, which he said allows billions of dollars to vanish into local bureaucracies without proper oversight.He noted several instances of alleged financial mismanagement and fraud schemes involving schools and school districts: the A3 Education Charter Network, where $400 million was allegedly diverted from the state by inflating enrollment numbers; the Scale Leadership Academy, where a founder was charged with siphoning $16 million in public funds; and the Magnolia S...