The California Majority Report // Steinberg: Budget is a "Nonstarter"

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STEVEN MAVIGLIO

Steinberg: Budget is a "Nonstarter"

May 14, 2010 @ 5:12 PM

Here's the transcript of Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg from the Democratic press conference this afternoon in reaction to the last Schwarzenegger budget proposal that slashes state services.

"I could speak for a long time about the past and where to point the finger. I could talk about sledgehammers, and automobiles and torn up credit cards.

I could talk about blowing up boxes. I could talk about one of many silly metaphors. But I will leave it at this: I am disappointed that the Governor has chosen to surrender. That he sees California as unfixable and that he proposes a budget that kills the economy and harms so many. It is a non-starter.

If God forbid this budget became a reality, California would be the only state in the union to not have a safety net for children. Leadership is not about blaming others. It's about finding solutions to tough problems to preserve the state and its people.

In their comments throughout the day the Governor's representatives have described the cuts he proposes as quote "terrible." I believe him ...but his actions say it would be more terrible to delay $2.1 billion in corporate tax breaks than to save children, the elderly, and the most vulnerable. His actions say it is more terrible to impose a tax on oil profits than complete elimination of county mental health services and child care. He appears to have decided that the solutions are too difficult to achieve so he will accept these "terrible" cuts.

We refuse to wave the white flag.

California's elected leaders- including myself- and the governor and the others need to stand up. Given the choice between enacting $6 billion in cuts to services for the elderly, children and the disabled, or delaying corporate tax breaks, I'm for delaying corporate tax breaks.

Given the choice between cutting education by nearly $3 billion or seeking revenues from oil companies extracting oil in California, I'm for getting revenues from oil companies profiting handsomely in this state.

SJUSD's New Superintendent Vincent Matthews - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

SJUSD's New Superintendent Vincent Matthews - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Applauds San Jose Unified
School District Selection of Superintendent Vincent Matthews

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today commended the San Jose Unified School District for selecting Vincent Matthews as the district's new superintendent.

"Vince Matthews is an excellent choice to lead the San Jose Unified School District," O'Connell said. "He has provided steady leadership and kept a focus on improving achievement for all students over the past four years while serving as the state administrator and later as the trustee for the Oakland Unified School District. Vince is a passionate and talented educator who is deeply committed to closing the achievement gap. In his new position as the San Jose Unified School District Superintendent, Vince will do a great job on behalf of the students, parents, and educators in that community.

"The Oakland Unified School District has made great strides academically and fiscally under the leadership of both Vince Matthews and the current Oakland Unified Superintendent Tony Smith. I am committed to finding an equally talented and qualified replacement for Vince to serve as trustee of Oakland Unified while the district continues its progress in repaying its state loan."

Acalanes High student newspaper named best in the nation Education - ContraCostaTimes.com

Education - ContraCostaTimes.com

Acalanes High student newspaper named best in the nation

By Michelle Maitre
Contra Costa Times

Posted: 05/14/2010 03:21:42 PM PDT

Updated: 05/14/2010 03:28:33 PM PDT

PLEASANT HILL — The Acalanes High School Blueprint has been named best high school newspaper in the nation by the American Scholastic Press Association.

The Blueprint, which was rated against 59 other newspapers nationwide, also received the "Most Outstanding High School Newspaper" honor in 1999. The paper was evaluated on content, design, editing and creativity, among other categories. The Blueprint also earned a special merit rating for earning a 955 score out of a possible 1,000.
Earlier this month, Blueprint writer Tara Yarlagadda received top honors for feature writing from the Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists.
"It's one thing to think you're a top performing high school newspaper, but it's another

Friday, May 14, 2010 Education

Livermore teachers accuse district of contract violation Grievances are filed after faculty training days are eliminated. San Ramon Valley high school students provide corsages and boutonnieres for Richmond school's senior prom. Acalanes High student newspaper named best in the nation School Notes Hundreds of teens witness DUI trial on Brentwood campus Protests against male undergraduate students grabbed national attention Oakland administrator is new superintendent of SJUSD Poorest Berkeley students to lose campus child care Mt. Diablo district school music groups to perform at Sleep Train Pavilion Pleasanton school district to lay off 61 employees

Embracing a Successful Anarchic Institution | Lefty Parent

Embracing a Successful Anarchic Institution | Lefty Parent

Embracing a Successful Anarchic Institution

by Cooper Zale

I recently read a May 7 article in Education Week, “Embracing Wikipedia”, where author and science teacher Matthew Shapiro makes the case for Wikipedia as a research tool, particularly for students (and therefore I guess for any casual life-long learner), competing favorably (at least in Shapiro’s opinion) with the “Gold Standard” Encyclopedia Britannica.

Heads up folks… you might even want to sit down! Wikipedia uses an anarchic form of governance. In fact, though it may be a long time until “brick and mortar” institutions adopt it, this portable, adaptable and minimalist governance model, may well be one of the biggest trends of the 21st Century, particularly in cyberspace.

Anticipating some knee-jerk reactions, there is a perhaps subtle yet profound difference between the commonly used word “anarchy”, which most people use to describe chaos and confusion, and the governance model by the same root with the “y” removed and an “ism” added.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary describes “anarchism” as…

A political theory holding all forms of governmental authority to be unnecessary and undesirable

Colo lawmakers turn to philanthropy for budget - Boston.com

Colo lawmakers turn to philanthropy for budget - Boston.com

Colo lawmakers turn to philanthropy for budget

By Steven K. Paulson

Associated Press Writer / May 14, 2010

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DENVER—Stung by declining revenues and facing a state budget cliff over the next few years, Colorado lawmakers are increasingly turning to philanthropists, hoping someone will bail them out.

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The practice has become so pervasive, Gov. Bill Ritter signed a law this year that requires gifts, grants and donations be listed as part of the state budget process.

According to records compiled by the state controller and obtained by The Associated Press, state agencies have collected $801 million in gifts, grants and donations over the past five years.

The biggest recipients have been colleges and universities, which have relied on grants and donations for decades. Over the past five years, $637,000 has been doled out to the governor's office. The state charter school for the deaf and blind got $675,000 for its programs.

Other bills relying on gifts, grants and donations this year include new teacher evaluations, repairing the crumbling state Capitol dome, home health care, a supplemental nutrition program, quality child care incentives, hospice care for

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Governor Schwarzenegger's Budget: May Revision

Governor Schwarzenegger's Budget: May Revision

A Responsible Budget in the Face of a
Worse Deficit

Fixes Our Broken Budget System, Fully Funds Education - Without Raising Taxes

While the budget deficit has worsened since January - with revenues that came in $6 billion lower than projected - and California’s economy is still sluggish, the Governor has produced a revised and improved budget that focuses on fixing our broken budget system once and for all. It is a responsible budget that includes a combination of necessary cuts and new revenues.

It is a budget that also fully funds education under Proposition 98, keeps state parks open, and keeps prisoners behind bars. And it does not raise taxes.

The Governor’s May Revise seeks to get more value out of an underperforming state asset - the California Lottery - and in so doing establish a much needed rainy day fund to benefit both current and future budgets. Raising more cash from the Lottery now will jump-start systemic budget reform, which California needs so that it is never again put in the feast-or-famine budget cycle that threatens funding to education, law enforcement, health and human services, and other programs.

Governor Schwarzenegger has produced an improved, responsible budget despite lower revenues and a worse deficit.

The budget deficit has grown since January. And the economy is still slow. Nevertheless, the Governor has produced a budget that:

• Fully funds education under Proposition 98, increasing funding to K-14 schools over the current year budget by about $200 million;
• Keeps state parks open;
• Does not let any felons out from behind bars early;
• Does not raise taxes.

It is a budget that includes difficult-but-necessary cuts, as well as new revenues and other solutions.

Good Teacher Candidates Allow For Good Education Schools and Vice Versa � The Quick and the Ed

Good Teacher Candidates Allow For Good Education Schools and Vice Versa � The Quick and the Ed

Good Teacher Candidates Allow For Good Education Schools and Vice Versa

by Kevin Carey

In speaking at this year’s New Schools Schmooze-A-Thon, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was asked about teacher preparation. “I don’t care where teachers come from,” he replied, while stressing the need to attract more talented people into the profession and do a better job of evaluating their performance once they arrive. In other words, Duncan doesn’t believe people necessarily need to go through a university-based training program in order to teach. In this, he’s firmly in mainstream of pundit / wonk thinking. The non-essential nature of schools of education isn’t a point of debate in the contemporary education policy conversation. It’s shared assumption from which debates proceed.
But in talking with a colleague this afternoon about the Finnish education junket I took a couple of years ago, I was reminded of something I wish I had explored more fully at the time: the entanglement of the teacher candidate recruitment problem and the education school quality problem. These issues are usually considered separately, but in fact I think they’re not far from being one in the same.

QUICK Hits

by Kris Amundson

What responsibility do charter supporters have to address bad actors in the charter sector? (Flypaper)
What happens to Minnesota’s worst teachers? Not much. (Star Tribune)
Did Florida’s class size amendment help students learn? (Education Next)
Want to know how to ace the SATs? (Colbert Report)

Mills College marks 20 years of 'better dead than coed' Education - ContraCostaTimes.com

Education - ContraCostaTimes.com

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Schwarzenegger Seeks New Cuts to Close Calif. Deficit - Bloomberg

Schwarzenegger Seeks New Cuts to Close Calif. Deficit - Bloomberg

Schwarzenegger Seeks New Cuts to Close Calif. Deficit

By Michael B. Marois and William Selway - May 14, 2010

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California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a new round of budget cuts, including eliminating the state’s main welfare program for families, to close a $19.1 billion budget deficit for the year starting July 1.

The $83.4 billion plan calls for $12.4 billion in spending reductions, $3.4 billion in additional federal aid and $3.4 billion in fund shifts, fees and assessments, according to the governor’s budget. This year’s budget was $86.4 billion.

The Republican’s revisions come four months after his first draft of a 2011 spending plan stalled in the Democrat-led Legislature. Schwarzenegger has vowed not to raise taxes, forcing him to rely on deeper cuts.

The proposals include dismantling the state’s main welfare program for families, known as CalWorks,

Education Research Report: Home, preschool and school coordination boosts achievement

Education Research Report: Home, preschool and school coordination boosts achievement

Home, preschool and school coordination boosts achievement

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

Children whose minds are stimulated in several early childhood settings—home, preschool, and school—have higher achievement in elementary school. What matters is not whether children's learning is supported at home, or stimulated in preschool or in elementary school, but that all three of these occur.

That's the conclusion of a new study published in the May/June 2010 issue of Child Development.

"The study has implications for policy as Congress reauthorizes the No Child Left Behind Act," notes Robert Crosnoe, associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, the study's lead author. "Ou

Parent involvement continues to be important in elementary years

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

Promoting parent involvement has been a big part of efforts to improve school performance. A new study has found that children whose parents were more involved across elementary school had fewer problem behaviors and better social skills, but that children's academics weren't affected.

The study, in the May/June 2010 issue of the journal Child Development, is based on information about more than 1,300 children from 10 U.S. cities who were followed from birth to fifth grade. They are part of the Study of Early Childcare and Youth Development, a longitudinal study carried out under the auspices of the Eunice

Links between child care and academic achievement, behavior persist into adolescence

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

Teens who were in high-quality child care settings as young children scored slightly higher on measures of academic and cognitive achievement and were slightly less likely to report acting-out behaviors than peers who were in lower-quality child care arrangements during their early years, according to the latest analysis of a long-running study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

And teens who had spent the most hours in child care in their first 4½ years reported a slightly greater tendency toward impulsiveness and risk-taking at 15 than did peers who spent less time in child care.

Finally Putting the College into Community � The Quick and the Ed

Finally Putting the College into Community � The Quick and the Ed

Finally Putting the College into Community

by Ben Miller

After Parks and Recreation, the funniest show on TV right now is Community, the Thursday night NBC sitcom about a community college study group. But for most of the season, the writers have treated the show’s community college setting as an excuse to high school style plots with a plausible explanation for why adults are involved. Hence the school hosts dances, the characters take classes in pottery and P.E., the cafeteria appears to be a popular hangout, and no one appears to have a specific goal in mind besides earning a degree.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that—the show is a comedy after all that intentionally does lengthy setups involving pop culture references.
But thankfully, the college part of Community has started popping up a bit more lately, starting with last week’s action movie spoof and yesterday’s outing involving the dreaded Spanish final.
Last week’s episode, “Modern Warfare,” used a paintball game with a winning prize of priority registration as a

News from EWA

by Kris Amundson

I am at the Education Writers conference in San Francisco. Here are some of the notable quotes from the sessions:
“We [colleges and universities] celebrate waste as a hallmark of quality.” Mo Qayoumi, President, California State University East Bay
“Of every 10,000 students in the lowest income quartile, just 741 will earn a college degree. And only 23 of those will be in STEM fields.” – Mo Qayoumi
“We are funding Medicaid out of higher education funding and letting college tuitions go up to make up the difference.” – Terry Hartle, ACE vice president
“Everybody thinks productivity increases are easy–in someone else’s industry.” – Terry Hartle
“Sarah Palin and Barack Obama have very little in common. But according to the Federal government, they are