SACRAMENTO— State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today offered the following statement regarding the 2014-15 state budget:
"This budget is the biggest infusion of funding into California's public school system that we've seen in many years. It is an open-eyed approach to strengthening the system overall, from our earliest learners to those shifting their focus to college and career.
"First, it takes an important and earnest step toward replacing some of what has been cut from our early education programs. Every dollar we invest in early childhood—especially when they go toward expansion and improvement both—helps close the achievement gap and drop the dropout rate.
"On the other end of the spectrum is the continued commitment to the Career Pathways Trust, designed to bring together students and employers in ways that are meaningful to them both. The young people in our classrooms are California's future workforce and business leaders. There is a reason the applications for the first grants almost tripled the amount of funding available. I look forward to seeing what our students accomplish with this second vote of confidence in their potential.
"And in between, we see a continued willingness to move forward with the Common Core and a major boost to the Local Control Funding Formula. I've been in the classroom. I know that our public schools work best when they're exactly that: public—when schools and communities come together to decide what works for them. Local leaders have done an extraordinary job stepping up to the challenge of equipping California's young people to succeed.
"This budget is a clear signal that the state stands with them."
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Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100
