Schwarzenegger suggests abolishing superintendent of public instruction
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivers his July 9 weekly address.As if California doesn't have enough to deal with, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has opened up a new front in the education and political wars: He wants to abolish the office of the superintendent of public instruction.
In his radio address Friday, he berated the legislature's "inaction" for failing to pass a budget, saying they should not "even think about raising taxes or borrowing" before eliminating inefficiencies in government.
One of the principal inefficiencies Schwarzenegger suggests streamlining is one of the least prominent of statewide elected offices: the nonpartisan superintendent of public instruction. The current superintendent is Jack O'Connell, a former high school teacher and Democratic state legislator who will be termed out in November after eight years in office.
The only problem: The position is mandated by the California constitution. Eliminating it will