Fully Fund Our Schools

But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger clearly opted for a different path. He proposed $1.4 billion in cuts to education in June and an additional $4.2 billion in the next school year – cuts the Legislature has taken steps to approve. These cuts would be added on top of the $11.6 billion in cuts in school funding included in the budget passed last February.

The impact of this draconian plan already is being seen. The Los Angeles Unified and Sacramento City Unified school districts were forced to shut down summer school programs. The Mount Diablo Board of Education just voted to eliminate 413 teaching positions, and at Kermit McKenzie Junior High in the Guadalupe Union School District, where I recently visited, class sizes are planned to increase from 30 to 44 students.

These are just a few examples of the burdens our teachers and other school personnel will have to overcome as they help California's 6.3 million students meet our high expectations.

While state officials mark these cuts in the budget-balancing ledger, district school boards and administrators are left no choice but to slash or eliminate vital local education programs.

While I have the utmost confidence in local school officials' ability to manage during this crisis, I argue it is high time we also trust them with the ability to raise funds for schools locally. The governor and the Legislature should take the bold step of giving Californians the chance to approve a constitutional amendment to lower the approval threshold for local parcel taxes to 55 percent, just as they did for local school bond approval in 2002.

The Public Policy Institute of California recently released a study that found 58 percent of residents said that kindergarten through 12th-grade education is the area they most want to protect from spending cuts.
Since 2003, when the PPIC first asked this question, respondents have consistently expressed the same sentiment. The same study also found that 54 percent of residents would support a parcel tax to raise money for their schools.

The point is clear: During these turbulent economic times, Californians trust their local efforts to directly support schools.
Legislative leaders and the governor both said just a few months ago they believe the responsible way to deal with this crisis is through cuts and revenue enhancements.

In fact, the governor declared that anyone advocating a budget agreement that did not include revenue increases "has a math problem." Nothing in this last election has changed the math, and the governor and the Legislature should have the courage to agree on a responsible budget that protects education, our top priority.
California is just days away from having to issue IOUs, according to state Controller John Chiang. We are on the verge of being out of time and out of cash.

As the budget negotiations shift to deal-making between the governor and the two legislative leaders from both houses, I urge the "Big 5" not to deal students out of the equation. Pass a responsible budget that protects students and empowers Californians to directly support their local schools. Our children deserve no less.

Jack O’Connell was elected to as State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2002 and was reelected in 2006. He had previously served in the State Assembly for the 35th AD from 1983 to 1995. He was elected to the 18th State Senate District in 1994 and served until 2003.