More than 250 people attended a local summit Friday to ask
questions and share thoughts with politicians about the state of
education.
The summit,
”
The Status and Future of K-12 Education in California,
”
brought together people from the tri-county area as well as
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, U.S.
Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, State Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Salinas and
Assemblyman Simon Salinas, D-Salinas. San Benito County
Superintendent Tim Foley also served on the panel.
More than 250 people attended a local summit Friday to ask questions and share thoughts with politicians about the state of education.
The summit, “The Status and Future of K-12 Education in California,” brought together people from the tri-county area as well as State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, State Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Salinas and Assemblyman Simon Salinas, D-Salinas. San Benito County Superintendent Tim Foley also served on the panel.
“We wanted this to be truly a forum where the democratic process is talked as well as walked,” said moderator Fernando Elizondo, superintendent of the Salinas Union High School District, the district that played host to the forum along with Denham.
O’Connell was a main draw for students, parents, politicians, teachers and administrators that filled the Harden Middle School Gym in Salinas. The “CEO of education” for California addressed topics such as the California High School Exit Exam, school accountability, the state budget and the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
“Public education in the state of California is clearly on the right track,” O’Connell said, referring to state accountability numbers released this month. “President Bush is right when he says leave no child behind. We need to get subgroups to meet the requirements, and we’re moving in the right direction. The best is yet to come.”
While O’Connell was optimistic about education, Denham was more melancholy.
“Education is in a crisis situation,” he said. “People talk about the energy crisis, blackouts and the fiscal crisis. We have kids who are not graduating. We have kids graduating at a ninth-grade level. This is a crisis.”
The No Child Left Behind Act is on educators’ and politicians’ minds because it is an unfunded mandate – schools have to meet requirements and face consequences without additional resources. Additional requirements include progress on academic measurements, especially in schoolwide subgroups, and having “highly qualified teachers.” Consequences include paying for busing students to schools not termed program improvement and state take over of schools.
Many educators suggest rejecting the federal mandates and all federal money schools receive, but O’Connell said $1.7 billion is too much to walk away from.
Farr referred to the federal education act as “the most successful piece of legislation passed by Congress.”
“It raised the bar, but it also raised expectations that were fulfilled last year,” he said.
But Farr also recognized the legislation is “a promise that is not being kept” as far as funding is concerned.
After the panelists spoke, audience members submitted questions.
One asked if postponing the exit exam was lowering standards for students. Foley said the stay would accomplish the opposite – postponing adds credibility to the test by allowing all students to be exposed to the state’s content standards.
Another asked if the politicians would support the Budget Accountability Act that will be on the March ballot. Salinas, Farr and O’Connell said yes while Denham said no. Denham said he wants to see bi-partisan decision-making in the state Legislature. The act would hold legislators more responsible for passing a balanced budget on time.
Another audience member inquired about what the state was doing to prevent teacher shortages in the areas of math, science and special education.
“We need to pay them more and respect them,” O’Connell said. “We also need to reach into the private sector.”
Other local educators attending the program were Jackie Munoz, superintendent of the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District, and Dee Brown, Hollister School District trustee.
Brown said she attended because she wanted to become more informed and listen to what politicians were thinking. She said the forum was a good start to solving problems in education.
“I’m concerned about the political control of schools by people that have their hearts in the right place, but don’t have the technical understanding,” Brown said. “Politicians try to make it seem like the answers are so simple and they’re not simple.”
The forum was sponsored by Denham and the SUHSD. Denham said he hoped the forum turns into an annual event.
