"The Assembly returned briefly to Sacramento on Thursday, resolved one of its internal squabbles by naming John A. Perez as its newest speaker, but then defied Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on how to respond to pressure from the Obama White House to overhaul education policy.
Assembly leaders, including the newly anointed Perez, jammed through legislation, opposed by Schwarzenegger and some education-reform groups, to qualify the state for a share of Obama administration Race to the Top financing.
The governor, who supports a measure already passed by the Senate, flatly vowed to veto the Assembly's version of the bill if it reaches his desk. 'This is Race to the Top – not race to the status quo,' he said in a statement before the Assembly session, adding, 'The Assembly bill is a step backwards, and if it reaches my desk it will be vetoed.'"
Although there were brief efforts to negotiate the differences, Assembly leaders ultimately decided to push their version through a floor vote, sending it to an uncertain fate in the Senate, which will meet next week. But even if the Senate accepts it – which seems unlikely – Schwarzenegger's veto threat still looms unless a compromise is worked out in the next week.
While it's ostensibly a disagreement over how to seek as much as $700 million in federal funds, it's really an arena for the much-broader, years-long battle over education reform, pitting the powerful California Teachers Association and most Democratic legislators against Schwarzenegger and such groups as EdVoice, a consortium of wealthy education reformers, most of whom are Democrats.