Carolyn Jones/EdSource

Prop. 28 will provide about $1 billion each year in funding to California public schools, starting in 2023. Former Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner, a chief backer of the initiative, discusses how it will work.

Even as the overall population in California’s rural north has remained steady or even grown over the past two decades, the number of children enrolled in public schools such as those in Quincy has shrunk. From the Pacific Coast to the inland mountains and valleys, dozens of schools have seen steep drops in enrollment.