The American Spectator : Fool's Gold?:
"California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state's Democratically-controlled legislature have become better-known for dysfunctional sparring matches and dueling tax increase packages than for any form of unanimous agreement. So the last month proved to be amazing as legislators agreed to pass a string of the Governator's school reform measures, including a measure that allows more parents to choose schools for their kids outside of the districts in which they reside, and, even more shocking, end a ban on the use of student test scores in evaluating teacher performance."
Certainly Schwarzenegger has earned his bona fides as a school reformer. After all, he has strongly backed a string of unsuccessful voter referendums since replacing the much-loathed Gray Davis six years ago. Among his lowlights: A plan to increase the time it takes for teachers to gain lifetime job protections through the granting of tenure was widely defeated thanks to a $15 million campaign against it by state and local affiliates of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers.
But why did legislators, beneficiaries of $346,300 in donations from the unions in 2008 alone (along with campaign help from their rank-and-file), turn their backs on their erstwhile allies? The opportunity to tap some of the $4.5 billion in so-called "Race to the Top" funds, provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, has proven to be too tempting to ignore. Declared Schwarzenegger this week after signing the bill: "These bills represent an important first step in bringing California's students and schools closer to billions of much-needed federal funding."
"California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state's Democratically-controlled legislature have become better-known for dysfunctional sparring matches and dueling tax increase packages than for any form of unanimous agreement. So the last month proved to be amazing as legislators agreed to pass a string of the Governator's school reform measures, including a measure that allows more parents to choose schools for their kids outside of the districts in which they reside, and, even more shocking, end a ban on the use of student test scores in evaluating teacher performance."
Certainly Schwarzenegger has earned his bona fides as a school reformer. After all, he has strongly backed a string of unsuccessful voter referendums since replacing the much-loathed Gray Davis six years ago. Among his lowlights: A plan to increase the time it takes for teachers to gain lifetime job protections through the granting of tenure was widely defeated thanks to a $15 million campaign against it by state and local affiliates of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers.
But why did legislators, beneficiaries of $346,300 in donations from the unions in 2008 alone (along with campaign help from their rank-and-file), turn their backs on their erstwhile allies? The opportunity to tap some of the $4.5 billion in so-called "Race to the Top" funds, provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, has proven to be too tempting to ignore. Declared Schwarzenegger this week after signing the bill: "These bills represent an important first step in bringing California's students and schools closer to billions of much-needed federal funding."
