California's Big 10, a coalition of mayors from the state's biggest cities, sent a letter calling on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers to move swiftly to complete a proposal for the state's portion of $4.3 billion in federal education funds"The Race to the Top competition offers an unprecedented opportunity to provide resources for California's next generation," wrote Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, the letter's author. "As city leaders, we feel an obligation to ensure California's application is as competitive as possible. This letter shows our commitment."
Unfortunately, when it was delivered last week the letter carried the signatures of only the Big Nine mayors because one big-city mayor refused to sign on. I'll give you two guesses, but Oakland residents are only going to need one.
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums respectfully declined, citing language and policy elements he and his education advisers wanted included in Race to the Top legislation being considered in Sacramento.
Specifically, Dellums wanted a section that pushed for a diverse teaching corps drawn from the community and a federal solution that considered the broad wealth gap in U.S. cities.
Dellums' education advisers, including senior education adviser Kitty Kelly Epstein, believe President Obama's Race to the Top education program does not provide the same flexibility to low-performing public schools that are afforded to charter schools, said Paul Rose, Dellums' press secretary. Dellums also consulted with advisers from the Oakland Unified School District and a group of interested community organizations, Rose added. Both Dellums and Kelly Epstein declined requests for interviews.
Apparently, Dellums has a better plan. Oakland's Quiet Mayor is talking with philanthropic organizations and national corporations to secure education funds for Oakland's public schools, Rose said. Of course, announcing those partnerships would be premature, he added.
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