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CaliforniaCalifornia was the first state whose Admission Act granted two sections in each township for the support of public schools. A section is a one-square mile parcel in a thirty-six square mile township. Prior to this time most states west of the Mississippi River had received the center section (section 16). The ?common schools? received section sixteen and thirty-six in a trust for schools. The original grant totaled 6,110,702 acres of which 470,000 surface acres and 790,000 mineral acres remain. The California State Lands Commission manages the land, as per the California State Constitution. A permanent fund was created from the sale of lands. The FY 2006 School LAND Bank Fund balance was $54.4 million, $5.4 million was distributed to the beneficiaries. In California the surface revenue and the mineral revenue from the land is deposited into the fund and is then sent to the beneficiaries. The legislature in California has dedicated the annual revenue stream to the teacher retirement program. Of importance to the school beneficiaries is the land still owed to the common school trust known as in-lieu land. When the grants were established, Congress was aware that some of the school lands in the new state had already been sold, homesteaded or had been set aside in federal designations and would thus be unavailable for the schools to acquire. Where the land was unavailable, states were promised in-lieu lands to make the trusts complete. California schools are still owed 47,234 acres of in-lieu lands. This debt is over 150 years old and needs to be paid to California public schools. Research Links
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