The stock market plunged over 1,800 points during the week of Feb. 5, 2018. The end result of the dropping points was 10 percent below what the market was just two weeks prior.

According to CNN, the stock market’s plunge was its biggest since 2011 and the savings and investments of many citizens were affected.

While the plunges in the stock market may influence people in the area, the improvement of state revenues may lead to an improvement in school funding, according to Principal Kevin Buchanan.

“I’m sure it affects members of the community if they have their retirement account or their investment accounts tied up in stocks, because it’s lost, last time I checked, about 8 percent of its value,” Buchanan said. “There has been some indication that state revenues are up so schools might get more funding.”

However, the stock market as a whole affects the school district and can influence OPUSD funding.

“Our future is highly dependent on the economy at large,” Oak Park Unified School District Superintendent Tony Knight wrote. “If the economy were to move into a recession, then tax revenues will decline from lower proceeds from personal income taxes, corporate taxes and investment taxes, as well as the sales tax and that would have an overall negative impact on all public school funding. We experienced this during the Great Recession from 2008 to 2012.”

According to California State treasurer John Chiang, the treasury department should be able to aid the state to bring the stock market points back.

“When California faces unsteady economic days like the past few days, our state will need a steady financial hand who can manage a budget,” Chiang said in a statement on the stock market. “As the only person in California history to hold all three statewide financial positions, Californians can trust me to lead us back [to the previously higher point value in the stock market], know what it will take to achieve the progressive vision we all want for our state, and my financial experience will help make that vision a reality.”

The Great Recession affected public schools in the state significantly in a negative manner.

“When the recession hit all school districts California had to make huge budget cuts. We actually lost about 25 percent of our budget over several years,” Knight wrote.

However, OPUSD found ways to avoid these major budget cuts.

“A school district can often protect itself by adding more students — if it can — because we are funded by the state based on the number of students,” Knight wrote. “In Oak Park, we were able to avoid layoffs and cutting programs by adding students through the District of Choice program. If it were not for the DOC program, we would have had to do massive teacher layoffs and even reduce the number of days in the school year.”

OPUSD is also not permitted to invest money and no school accounts are kept with the district.

“The ups and downs of the stock market do not have a direct impact on the school district. We are prohibited from investing any money in the markets and our ‘bank account’ has to be kept with the Ventura County Office of Education treasury,” Knight wrote.

Additionally, California has taken steps to ensure that the effects on public schools during the recession will not repeat.

“[What happened in 2008] is less likely to repeat because the state started what they call a ‘rainy day fund,’ adding money to it each year so that if or when a recession happens in the future, they can use that money to help schools and reduce the cuts,” Knight wrote.