Thank you Chairwoman Brownley and committee members for your time.
Our discussion cannot revolve around the nuts and bolts of how we finance education alone It must also center on exactly where education falls in the pecking order of our priorities.
As the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, education is my unequivocal number one priority as it should be for all of us.
We all have a stake in providing the highest-quality education for our 6.3 million students…we all have a stake in empowering these students toward successful futures and we all have a stake and an obligation in securing the future of our great state.
But securing California's future goes hand-in-hand with securing our children's future.
In January, the Governor proposed cutting education funding by a whopping $4.8 billion and to suspend Proposition 98.
Each of these plans represents a mammoth step backward.
At a time when it is most critical to maintain and expand on the achievement gains of the past five years, the Governor has opted for a plan of regression, rather than progression.
Any time the issue of education is on the table we should not be discussing cuts, ever. The conversation should be about reform and additional investment.
That's why these proposals are wrong on all levels. They do a tremendous disservice to California's students, and they imperil the future of our state.
How can we expect to grow our economy, to create a highly-qualified and adaptable workforce, and to attract business to invest in California and its people, when we lose sight of how crucial education is to our survival?
Well it is quite simple: we cannot expect any benefits whatsoever if education is not our top priority.
During the past few weeks, I have voiced my opposition to the Governor's plans and I will continue to do so.
And I strongly urge you to do the same.
During a time of crisis, it is easy to lose sight of our goals or to veer from our plans…and that is why I am here today: to urge you to keep the future in your vision when it comes to funding education.
California's future success depends on improving our schools and closing the achievement gap that exists between white students and students of color, as well as gaps that leave English learners, poor students, and students with disabilities behind their peers.
In my state of education address earlier this year, I offered a series of recommendations, as part of a comprehensive plan to close the achievement gap.
Among my proposals, I am co-sponsoring legislation in the critical area of early childhood education to improve the delivery of Title 5 preschool programs;
I've also initiated a new, unprecedented partnership with the leaders of all segments of public higher education in California to collaborate on an integrated, concerted, measurable, and coordinated plan to close the achievement gap.
I will also be collaborating with the deans of California's schools of education to imbed culturally responsive instruction in California's entire teacher pre-service and professional development programs.
And I'm calling for expanding on our accountability system so that, in addition to the API – we can measure and reward schools for taking specific actions toward closing the achievement gap.
Finally, I am sponsoring legislation this year to provide more professional development in the use of data.
At long last our state has the ability to track individual student achievement, but we are a long ways away from making the maximum use of data and technology to truly respond to each individual student's education needs. And we need to get there.
As these budget deliberations continue, we can't lose sight of the importance of quality data systems to our public schools.
We are making progress in all of these areas and I ask for your support.
Our overarching goal is that by the end of 2010, California will have significantly narrowed the achievement gap for every subgroup in the state.
I am confident we can get there, but it is a tall order when education funding is constantly under threat.
There's a lot we can do right now to improve the education our students receive, but so much more we could offer them if education became everyone's top priority.
We need more investment in education, certainly not any less.
It's frankly tragic that our great state ranks 46th in the nation in per-pupil spending, at nearly $1,900 below the national per-pupil average, and yet there are those who would cut schools more to protect a tax loophole for yachts.
Consider also that we invest:
- $5,100 per-pupil less than New Jersey;
- $4,000 less than Wyoming; and
- And $1,500 less than Louisiana.
I believe there is much we can offer to our students in the way of improvement and enhanced opportunities for success.
But genuinely improving our educational system is not something that is going to happen over night. There is no quick fix and cutting funding is certainly not the solution.
So while we discuss funding for education in this year's budget, it is imperative that we have a larger conversation about how we get our schools the increased funding necessary to meet the high expectations we've set for our students.
It should also be said that within this larger conversation, the idea of providing more flexibility and discretion at the local level should be considered, because this would provide county offices of education and school districts with the ability to more effectively administer their own financial affairs during difficult state budget times.
I would also like to encourage you to reach out to the education community in each of your districts to meet with administrators who are being forced to cut vital staff; teachers who will soon be laid off; and students who can longer participate in sports, music, art and so many other essential programs.
Once you hear their stories and understand their pain, it is my hope that you will oppose these horrendous cuts, not because I urged you, but because they did.
In closing, I cannot stress enough to you the importance of getting an on-time budget.
Districts and schools are already feeling the pain, but it will only worsen should summer school and other programs be affected in the coming months.
We owe our students a viable solution to this problem, and by viable, I mean a solution that does not pose a threat to their well-being and future.
Thank you.
