Ad campaign: More money for schools
The Education Coalition - which includes the biggest school-related unions and associations in California - has launched a statewide media campaign with a clear, unsurprising message: public schools need more money. The radio and TV campaign comes after a 1,700-page study that found California schools need at least $23 billion to meet basic standards.
One part of the study recommended $1.5 trillion in new funding. But even the smaller number might seem scary to policymakers. There is concern that elected officials will instead focus on other reforms in the report, like how the state needs more teacher
training for English learners, more power for principals to fire teachers and better "collection of
student-specific data." The ad campaign keeps the focus on increasing funding for schools, not just bureaucratic reforms. The script:
Teacher: State leaders asked Stanford University to conduct 20 studies of California public schools.
Parent: There's progress, but much remains to be done. Compared to other states our schools lack resources.
Teacher: Continuing to improve our schools will take big changes but that can’t happen without more help.
Parent: California school funding is inadequate – the studies say we need forty percent more.
Teacher: It's time for the governor and the Legislature to invest in our children's future, and give our kids the schools they deserve.
"It really is embarrassing that in a state as wealthy as California, our schools are so severely under-funded, especially when compared to other states with fewer resources," Kathy Kinley, president of the California School Boards Association, said in a statement. "These studies validate the reality that we need more resources and flexibility in our schools, and if we don’t act now, our students will continue to suffer."
The education establishment is focusing on money, without mentioning reforms in the ads. The Stanford report, however, said both are needed: "Finally we cannot emphasize enough that asking the question, 'How much money will it cost to achieve state goals for students?' is meaningless without also asking, 'How can we develop a system that makes better use of whatever resources are available?' ... The message of the entire collection of studies is that serious fundamental change will be needed if California is to provide a high quality school system."
The advertising buy is relatively modest: about $500,000 for radio and TV spots in Spanish, English and four Asian languages on 60 stations in 21 communities from Medford, Ore. (which covers far Northern California) to El Centro. The real value of the campaign is to send a signal to lawmakers in Sacramento.
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