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SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today issued the following statement regarding the release of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Education Excellence Report [http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/press-release/9010/] (Outside Source):

"I commend the Governor's Committee on Education Excellence for its thoughtful, comprehensive recommendations for education reforms to better prepare California's students for success. I appreciate the commitment of the Governor and the hard work of the Committee to seek ways to ensure that all our students have the opportunities, resources, and skills they need to compete in the competitive global economy.   

"I agree with the Committee's findings that California needs to significantly expand our education data system. In order to close the achievement gap, we must be able to provide educators and policymakers with information that will reveal what practices and materials are most effective, where and how we should intervene in schools, and how we might improve classroom instruction.

"I also agree that we must both invest significantly more in our schools, and change our funding system to directly focus resources on closing the achievement gap. I also concur that schools should be given more flexibility in how they spend their education dollars.

"It is a sad irony that on the day that this report acknowledges the need for critical investments in our public education system, school districts across our state are issuing pink slips to teachers and support staff as a result of the Governor's proposed $4.8 billion education budget cuts.

"While California has 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. Once we weather this fiscal crisis, I look forward to working collaboratively with the Governor and Legislature to attain the kind of positive results that only effective comprehensive education reform will allow us to attain."