California Schools Chief Says Schwarzenegger Budget Will Lead to “Year of Education Evisceration”

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell released the following statement on Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed budget for 2008-09:

At a time when California must make substantial investment in schools in order for our young people to survive and succeed in the global economy, the Governor's budget takes a giant step backward. I fear that the "year of education" will become the year of education evisceration. This budget will not help us close the achievement gap that threatens the futures of our students and our state. It will not help us effectively prepare the well-skilled workforce our state desperately needs to remain competitive.

All over California today, school districts are struggling to find ways they can cut their budgets mid-year, after contracts have been signed, materials paid for, and programs planned. The reason voters passed Proposition 98 was to provide stability, predictability, and growth for our schools so our classrooms would not be at the mercy of swings in the state budget as they are today.

While I realize we have a serious budget shortfall that must be addressed, improving our education system is the key to ensuring that California will have the well-qualified workforce that will secure a healthy economy in the future. I am committed to making improvements to our system regardless of our fiscal difficulties, but we must have a conversation about how to secure the long-term investments our students and our state need to succeed.

Just this week, Education Week's comprehensive report card of public school systems nationwide gave California a grade of D+ when it comes to funding our schools. It reported that California spends $1,892 per pupil less than the national average. New Jersey and New York annually spend more than $5,000 per pupil in excess of what our state invests in our students, even taking into consideration regional cost differences. At the same time, California's student population is the most challenging in the nation with more than half our students coming from families that are struggling economically and a quarter learning the English language. As abundant research makes clear, we simply need to invest more - not less - in preparing these students to succeed.

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