Post budget blues

For better or worse, the budget is done, and it seems like the only good thing to be said for it is that at least it was done on time and the district has avoided taking the first step down the road to a state takeover. Beyond that, it should now be abundantly clear to everyone that the overarching problem is not $150,000 in legal fees for KALW, or $80,000 for JROTC or even $26,000 more for Ackerman's raise — these are crumbs, and even adding all of the crumbs together does not create a big enough piece of the pie to solve the problem, which is that THE PIE IS TOO SMALL!

Instead of squabbling with each other over why this crumb or that crumb has been apportioned here or there, wouldn't it make more sense to turn our attention to lobbying for a larger pie? Reading budgets is not my strong suit, but clearly there are those on this list who are not only adept at it but relish it. Would anyone be willing to do a close read of the state budget and try to find some money which could be freed up for our classrooms?

This sentiment has been expressed here before, but let me add my voice to the chorus. There are political elements at work in this country whose mission it is to undermine public education — to hand over to private enterprise every aspect of our schools, from curriculum and testing to custodial and food service. The rallying cry of these people is 'There is plenty of money given to public schools — they just need to spend it more wisely!' As we factionalize ourselves into smaller and smaller special interest groups (westside vs eastside, parents of K-12 vs parents of preschoolers, everyone vs the Rooftop families), we play right into their hands. We sound like them, for chrissake, pretending that there is enough money to go around, and that we just have to spend it more wisely. Can we not have the courage to set aside our differences and agree on one single thing — that there is NOT enough money for everything, that the situation has gone way beyond just making "wiser" spending decisions, that there is no "wise" choice between offering a decent preschool to a needy three year old and offering a decent middle school to a needy 12 year old? A week or so ago, our elected officials in Sacramento walked away from an opportunity to challenge the Governor on his broken promises to fully fund education, claiming that they would address that issue "later." I have news for them — "later" is too late for us. Our crisis is happening right now. The time has come for all of us to set aside the kind of political infighting which has us at each others' throats over symbolic crumbs, and join together to demand with one voice that our elected officials fund public education the way it needs to be funded, not with empty talk about "wiser" decisions, or doubletalk about restoring borrowed funding while withholding other funds, or promises to tackle the issue "later." Later is right now, and our kids can't wait.

By Nestwife

Stop Arnold, Starting Now

The time to stand up and oppose Arnold's attack on teachers and schools is upon us. He has made his choices and finalized his initiatives. There is no longer any question about what we are up against. Now its time to understand what's at stake and take action.

I will devote considerable time and energy here on this blog to researching the school related initiatives, and reporting on the initiative campaigns. I hope to report on all sides of the campaign, both the opposition and backers of each initiative. Make no mistake, I am a partisan and I will not make any pretense of objectivity here. But I will attempt to represent the opposition's point of view.

This is not a single issue blog. We're not hijacking the discussion here. SFUSD still faces a huge deficit. Enrollment policy and the Diversity Index are still in play. But this summer will be an important time for Arnold's opposition to come together and form an effective coalition. I hope we can bring the voice of San Francisco's school community to the fore.

Prop 98 Kiss of Death Initiative

The last of the initiatives that I plan to focus on is all about the money. Not sure why Arnold feels the need to formally undo Prop 98. He seems to be getting away with ignoring it, so what's the urgent need to get it off the books? Here again is the formal text of the initiative from the usual source, California Secretary of State - Elections & Voter Information - Initiative Update

School Funding. State Spending. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

Proponents: William Hauck and Allan Zaremberg (916) 444-6670

Changes state minimum school funding requirements (Proposition 98), permitting suspension of minimum funding, but terminating repayment requirement, and eliminating authority to reduce funding when state revenues decrease. Excludes above-minimum appropriations from schools' funding base. Limits state spending to prior year total plus revenue growth. Shifts excess revenues from schools/tax relief to budget reserve, specified construction, debt repayment. Requires Governor to reduce state appropriations, under specified circumstances, including employee compensation, state contracts. Continues prior year appropriations if new state budget delayed. Prohibits state special funds borrowing. Requires payment of local government mandates. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Spending limit could constrain state expenditures over time. Other provisions would have major impacts on state budget decision making, which could lead to varying outcomes regarding the level of state spending and on the composition of that spending among education, transportation, and other state programs. Provisions allowing Governor to reduce appropriations could result in lower state spending in certain years when the state was facing unresolved budget shortfalls.

The Muzzle the Left Initiative

The next initiative aimed at least partially at schools is the "Public Employees' right to Approve Use of Union Dues for Political Campaign Purposes Act" that is a clear threat to progressive and liberal political action. I think this issue will be one of the hardest to defeat and one of the most important measures on the ballot. The text below is again taken from the
California Secretary of State - Elections & Voter Information - Initiative Update

Public Employee Union Dues. Required Employee Consent for Political Contributions. Initiative Statute.

Proponent: Lewis K. Uhler (916) 786-9400

Prohibits public employee labor organizations from using dues or fees for political contributions unless the employee provides prior consent each year on a specified written form. Prohibition does not apply to dues or fees collected for charitable organizations, health care insurance, or other purposes directly benefiting the public employee. Requires labor organizations to maintain and submit to the Fair Political Practices Commission records concerning individual employees' and organizations' political contributions; those records are not subject to public disclosure. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Probably minor state and local government implementation costs, potentially offset in part by revenues from fines and/or fees.

Teacher Job Security, or "Put the Kids First Act."

First up, the text of the teacher tenure and dismissal proposition, as found on the California Secretary of State - Elections & Voter Information - Initiative Update site:

1088. (SA05RF0019)

Public School Teachers. Waiting Period for Permanent Status. Dismissal. Initiative Statute.

Proponent: Bonnie Garcia (760) 202-7714

Increases length of time required before a teacher may become a permanent employee from two complete consecutive school years to five complete consecutive school years; measure applies to teachers whose probationary period commenced during or after the 2003-2004 fiscal year. Authorizes school boards to dismiss a permanent teaching employee who receives two consecutive unsatisfactory performance evaluations. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Unknown impact on school district teacher salary costs as a result of changes in teacher tenure and dismissal practices. Fiscal impacts could vary significantly district by district.

The actual initiative petition document submitted to AG Lockyer is found on the AroundTheCapitol.com site here here. I will repost it here as a comment to this post.

Friedman: Behind Every Grad...

I used to hang on every word Tom Friedman wrote, especially in the days after 9/11. Now I think he's increasingly unhinged, or maybe just caught in his own illusions about democracy in Iraq and the Middle East. Its a common plight for the liberal hawks that supported the Iraq war.

But when he talks about the Flat World, and living in the globalized economy, his words still inspire. Today's editorial is from the Tom Friedman I like. Behind Every Grad... - New York Times:

"We are heading into an age in which jobs are likely to be invented and made obsolete faster and faster. The chances of today's college kids working in the same jobs for the same companies for their whole careers are about zero. In such an age, the greatest survival skill you can have is the ability to learn how to learn. The best way to learn how to learn is to love to learn, and the best way to love to learn is to have great teachers who inspire.

And the best way to ensure that we have teachers who inspire their students is if we recognize and reward those who clearly have done so.

Imagine if every college in America had a program like Williams's, and every spring, across the land, thousands of great teachers were acknowledged by the students they inspired? 'No Great Teachers Left Behind.' How about it?"