State schools chief says budget proposal harmful to students

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said this morning that meddling with voter-approved funding guarantees for schools would cause “severe and long-lasting harm to both our students and our schools.”

The comments come in response to a proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to suspend the budgeting formula as part of a plan to wipe out California’s $26.3-billion deficit. Calling the proposal “short-sighted” and “irresponsible,” O’Connell said at a morning press conference that schools were being “made the scapegoat for the budget crisis.”

“Enough is enough,” he said, citing reductions to school funding made in recent months as the state’s revenues have plummeted.

The Democratic leaders of the Legislature have said they oppose suspending the Proposition 98 funding guarantees for K-12 education, the largest spending item in California’s budget. The powerful education lobby is gearing up to oppose the suspension as well.

On Monday, members of the California Teachers Assn. delivered 10,000 protest postcards to Schwarzenegger’s San Diego office. Rick Pratt, assistant executive director of California School Boards Assn., joined O’Connell at this morning’s press conference. He blamed Sacramento officials for passing the state’s budget problems to schoolchildren.

 “In trying to solve the state’s fiscal deficit,” Pratt said, “we’re creating learning deficits in our kids.”

-- Shane Goldmacher in Sacramento

Photo: State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell speaks to a crowd in May. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[John]

Their directly their blame at the wrong person, it's the California Teachers Assn who own the pockets of these Democratic leaders of the Legislature.

These guys can care less about the kids. If they did care, they would open up the schools to competition so they can become more efficient, rather than keeping bad teachers and useless programs.

[bwildasi]

Email has been replacing the clunky USPS mail system that has been losing BILLIONS, Where as billions of transactions have gone from brick-and-mortar money vaults and teller windows to online banking. We find similar trends in telecommuters reduced automobile polution to keep office productivity up by being monitored over the Internet.

Seems to me that huge cost of staffing, building maintenance, student matriculation and career counseling and tracking, and lets not forget student achivement scores could vastly be improved by eliminating brick-and-mortar education. How? Replace education as we know it with virtual schools. The time may be ripe for a holodeck style education through virtual classrooms.

[Walt Disney]

Moron.

[AL]

Why don't the Republicans and Democrates finally fess up and realize that they are inflicting permanent damage on the State's financial standing and the economy by not implementing a new budget that, yes, will have new taxes. Don't be foolish people you can't cut off the spigget that suddenly. Reductions are a gradual process and we must accept our responsibility for all of these great services so new fees/taxes will happen.

[Eric Pfeiffer]

Name one business that operates with the same technology that it used in 1880.
...Welcome to our public education system. Technology is banned from the classroom Teaching software is not
allowed. All of the benefits of the best teachers in the state or US teaching with the best matierlal are banned from
the classroom. Teachers first and kids last.
...It is the story of CA and states across the nation. So things stay as they were in 1880 and crumbles while the rest of
the world moves on.

[Dr.NosePikens]

Total economic collapse in California is eminent now that our legislators are walking away from the jobs we hired them to do for us. The political atrophy regarding their lack of support for A.B. 390 has raised questions among most of their constituents. Regardless it's obvious now that Arnold really never intended to debate the issue of legalization of cannabis in California as a stimulus to our States economic dilemma. We as taxpayers will ultimately pay for the folly our legislators have put us in. Support A.B. 390 now Arnold, show the Nation what can be done when we Californians decide to work together even when it‘s not considered a politically popular issue by some of those other States. In other words Arnold be larger than life as we imagined you when we voted you into office…please.

[Richard Ivey]

Fantastic suggestions! Use the schools for Air Force bombing practice and give each kid a Twitter educational device plus some graffitti spray cans for recreation time. We can promptly solve this budget crisis and get back to our beer and TV soaps. As Arnie says, it takes guts to make decisions.

[Robert Chapman]

One possible answer to school problem: Vouchers Vouchers Vouchers!!!

[Dan]

There is a bill in the house now to add a 9.9 % tax on gas and oil for higher education. Eric is absolutely correct, you can't turn off the money spiget that easy. Unfortunaely yes, we will see new taxes on everything when this current budget is done guaranteed. Look what happened back in Feb. history does repeat itself, unfortunately at the taxpayer expense.

[Whathappened]

Here is the real story for the uneducated. The teachers have long felt "lets just spend all the money and shut down the schools then the people will be forced to give us more." The unions elected their stooges and have done the first part. They are trying the second. Ca is a magnet for highly educated people "who serve no purpose except to get on the public payroll and scream for more." All big tax states CA,NY, NJ etc are all broke it only proves giving money to Gov is like give heroin to an addict He only wants more and gets less of a bang. You figure it out

[michael]

California schools are at the bottom in per capita spending on school children when compared to other states. This is a fact. You clowns who think that there is endless spending on education are uneducated yourselves. Try studying the facts.

[RH]

Nothing that happens to the education system in California due to this budget crisis can possibly be any more harmful to students than the last 40 years of the type of"'indoctrination" in Marxism/Socialism they have been subjected to in the public education system.

[Carlos]

Have to agree with most here, labor unions in this state got us in this mess, and every time they try and cut their funding we get the 'don't hurt the kids' line. Best thing we can do is to go to a voucher system and let the public system compete in a free market... It's funny how I hear many teachers are getting laid off yet all the 'administrative' folks are still keeping their jobs. Shouldn't we be laying off the paper pushers before the teachers... great system.

[Joel Ittner]

Hey, Richard Ivey - where'd you come from? Montana? Idaho? Get back to your PBR & couch underneath your 5th grade certificate. If kids are going to learn, they need ONE THING - content teachers willing to go the distance to instill morality and reasoning. The kids will find out it's wrong to waste class time that a high school education will provide a rung to a better future - for themselves and the rest of us. P*ss us off, and you're going to feel the effects of a weakened society which only gets worse every day when people like you open their mouths. Want a revolution? Teachers like me will be at the front of the line waiting our turn to laugh at your a*s after I stomp your head into the gutter...

[comment 1]

Ahh....the educated! We must be...we read the LA Times....
Tech in the classroom...I guess EP [above] has never been in a classroom...classrooms have tech. Vouchers...been there and done that, they don't work, there is ample data to support that statement. "Competition"...we have competition and guess what? The "competing" schools do about as well as public schools. CTA...just a union, one that represents teacher and student interests...a union not unlike the AMA, LAPD protective league, NFLPA, MLBPA....get the point? The bottom line is money. California and its elected officials are pathetic in that regard. Let's take it out on the kids...why not? I do like the beer comment.

[woodstock1969]

If the students are harmed by the state not spending money it does not have, then the taxes should be raised, the police should be on unemployment, fire stations closed, libraries shuttered, and a way should be found to get more and more and more money to the students.

[smokescreens surround us]

More propaganda to further support the Teachers Unions, whose track records speak for themselves. They don't give a hoot about our kids, and they've destroyed CA education. I hear they are now going to launch a huge multi-million commercial campaign to once again, fool the public. Wish I had Bill Gates $, so I could air my own commercials, exposing the truth. We need a wealthy hero to stop the corruption of these unions. Today, the guv again brought up the fact that CA would save billions by ending the fraud, waste & abuse in In-Home Support Prog. and Dar.Steinberg had the gall to say "one man's reform is another person's unacceptable cut". The rhetoric gags me. The only men opposed to it are the criminals who are drawing 20 paychecks with 20 fake identities. And the unions won't allow anyone to be cut, criminals or not.

[Voice for the children-Reform]

The statement "meddling with voter-approved funding guarantees for schools" is, in my opinion, dishonest. The voter-approved Prop. 98 has many safeguards built in, for both the public, and the schools. There is a "relief valve" that can adjust funding provided based on general fund revenues, which we are currently, severely lacking. Because actual revenues may be up, or down (or in this case, in the red to the tune of 26 billion), the Prop. 98 requirement can also go up or down. It's just that our union-run politicians want the non-union citizens to continue to suffer, and carry an even heavier load (26 billion), without having to adjust the formula to current revenues. In other words, the unions don't want their employees affected by our deficit. And the unions are once again using the "it's for the children" rhetoric, via their cronies, and soon-to-see public blinding campaigns.

[Lou]

Just curious. How come Asian immigrants manage to succeed in underfunded schools?

[Karen]

I wonder, would he be willing to give up his retirement pension to "save the kids"?

[Jerry]

Michael, Here are some facts for you:

California was ranked 16th overall (out of 50 States) in per capita spending on education ('06 data). Simply not true that CA is last. (http://www.ppinys.org/reports/jtf/educationspending.htm)

How much of the General Fund Budget is spent on Education? (Or, on some other major program areas?)

While it has changed over time and changes somewhat from year-to-year, about 52 to 55 percent of the State General Fund Budget is spent on K–12 and Higher Education.

California's general fund budget was over $111Billion. Do the math, that's one hell of a lot of money for one State's single program.

Additonally, as this is the most populous state, one would expect any enterprise to benefit from economy of scale. There shouldn't be a direct increase in costs with each child added to the school rolls. One ranking I found for public schools in the US had California 46th. (2003data).

California's education system is a shambles, and a very inefficient one at that.

Do some actual research, and try to avoid the CTU sites for heaven's sake. Facts may be unpleasant, but they're still facts.

[jeff]

I'm so sick and tired of all this finger pointing in regards to education in CA. The fact are these, CA ranks near the bottom in per student spending and is near the bottom in academic achievement. You can blame teachers, administrators or politicians. The fact of the matter is that we need to blame ourselves. Many talk about the importance of educating our children, but in reality ($$$) this is clearly not the case. As a society we are selfish individuals; we protect our selfish interests and there is no one to protect the children. Stop hiding behind rhetoric! A 19th Century education model is not the answer, and reducing teacher pay and/or teachers is not the answer (do you voluntarily give up pay and/or employment?). If Californian's really want better educated students, start with the kids first. Really transform our education system by defining a modern classroom and teaching paradigm that meet student needs (sorry 1952 graduate, students learn different today), and empower teachers, administrators and schools to do what's best for kids and really hold them accountable for their decisions. Politicians, parents and industry need to take responsibility for their roles in educating our children. Money does matter, JFK didn't say let's go to the moon on a shoestring budget. If you want to be the best you need to fully commit to being the best.

[RTorres]

The reason we are spending half of our budget on education and still come out short: illegal alien children
There are more and more of them each year causing congestion in schools, lower test scores cuz they don't know english very well. We taxpayers have to foot the bill at the end of the day to educate millions of illegal children. We taxpayers pay all the illegal criminals sitting in jail as well as all the subsidies the state of california gives to them. This is welfare paradise state ... taxpayers are getting tired of it

[RTorres]

To Joel who posted: "Want a revolution? Teachers like me will be at the front of the line waiting our turn to laugh at your a*s after I stomp your head into the gutter... "

This is typical CTA unionized thug mentality. they are thugs plain and simple.