Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s top education advisor, Alan Bersin, thinks it is time to raise taxes to give more money to the state’s K-12 school system.  According to the California School Boards Association website, Bersin recently gave a speech to the group in which he called for an  end to the “gridlock” between the anti-tax forces and “those of us on the district level (who) are faced with absolute requirements for additional resources."  Bersin called on the CSBA to help educate the public on the need for new taxes, praising them for "skilled leadership."  (Did you forget, Mr. Bersin, that CSBA’s "skilled leadership" helped defeat your boss’ important reform poposals in the special election?  Probably not.)

Let’s hope he’s “off the reservation” on this and not representing the governor’s position.

California is spending more than $46.7 billion on education this year, which represents 51 percent of the state budget, to educate 6.2 million students (the enrollment numbers are for 03-04, the most recent info on Dept. of Education’s website).  That’s roughly $7400 per student.  I live in the Oakland Public School district, which is bankrupt and was forced to accept a state administrator to run the district.  Except for about four K-5 schools, most of the schools are unacceptable to involved, interested parents.  Not only are the academics lousy, the schools aren’t safe.  But somehow Bersin apparently thinks the problem is money, not management.

He’s wrong.  Lance Izumi heads up the education program of the San Francisco-based think tank, Pacific Research Institute.  Izumi disagrees with Bersin on the need for new revenues.

“The issue in California is not how much money is being spent,” says Izumi.  “It is how  the money is spent.  Before we talk about new revenues for education, we have to make sure that we are getting the absolute maximum bang for the buck, and right now, we aren’t.”

Izumi says the schools (actual schools, not district offices or the central adminstration) need to have more flexibility and, in turn, accountability for their budget decisions.  If you want to read more about his ideas on how the school system needs to be reformed, click here.

It’s too bad that Bersin is tired of the “no new taxes” crowd.  We taxpayers are tired of the constant whining of the “we need more money” crowd that runs the state’s failing school system.  You want more money?  Give us better performing and safer schools for our tax dollars.   Fire the bad teachers and loosen the CTA’s hold on the school system.  We taxpayers don’t need to spend more money on a system that is essentially run by a labor union whose entire focus is on higher pay, higher benefits and protecting the bad teachers in the system. 

One more thing:  It’s time to take the management of the school system out of the hands of educators.  Let’s bring in some business folks who know how to manage large organizations and budgets and see if we can get any more “bang for our buck.”  The magic of education happens in the classroom.  The mismanagement of our schools happens in the administration offices in the district offices and in Sacramento.  Those folks need to go.

Of course, Bersin call for more money for the schools fits right in with CSBA’s "Adequate Funding" campaign that they are launching this year along with Children Now, the California League of Women Voters and members of the Education Coalition.  

Governor, if you’re listening, Bersin is wrong.  You think you may have patched things up with the GOP leaders over your hiring of a left-wing liberal activist to run your administration.  Believe me, you will lose any GOP support you may have left if you agree to raise taxes to give more money to the K-12 schools.  This is a public school system that cannot perform well with the $46.7 billion we spend on it now.   The system doesn’t need more money—it needs a giant financial overhaul and new management. 

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 17th, 2005 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.