In This Issue:  | | • | SCHWARZENEGGER'S REVISED STATE BUDGET @ A GLANCE | | | • | PTA CALLS GOVERNOR’S BUDGET ‘INTOLERABLE AND UNCONSCIONABLE’ | | | • | NONSTOP WORK ON RttT 2.0 | | | • | LAUSD TO CHANGE SCHOOL CHOICE PROCEDURE | | | • | HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources | | | • | EVENTS: Coming up next week... | | | • | What can YOU do? | |
Featured Links: | | | | REVISIONIST THINKING: Somewhere between the pithy (or perhaps 'pissy'?): "Eighteen minutes. Four questions from reporters. And with that, Arnold Schwarzenegger made a beeline for the door Friday afternoon..." from John Myers Capitol Notes weblog [http://bit.ly/c4hzEf] -- and Jean Roth's California Budget Project 'down and dirty' dissection of the Governor's May Revise Budget proposal [http://bit.ly/dxJOUS] lies the truth.
You'll have to look hard; the truth being that there isn't much truth in there. Just smoke and mirrors, playing 'gotcha' with the other side -- and an uncertain amount of fairy-tale wishful thinking that The Obama Administration Will Bail Us Out. Why would they? We in California, red or blue, don't want to play by their rules. The Obama Dept of Ed believes that Charter Schools are the Magic Bullet of Ed Reform - but here in LA - Ground Zero of Charter Implementation (we have more charters than anywhere else) - they aren't working all that well. Or any better than any other flavor of reform anyway.
The Governator is relying upon the feds giving us money they're not going to give, smoke+mirror robbing-from-Peter-to-pay-Paul-borrowing, and quick-sale-property sales in a down market where property ain't worth much. And (my favorite): Catching speeders in speed traps -- making poor traffic safety a revenue engine like tobacco and alcohol sales.
Does that make a drinking, smoking, speeding motorist (probably chatting on the old cell phone) a dangerous criminal ....or a patriotic taxpayer? If it wasn't true I'd be making "what's next?" merriment of taxing soda drinkers! [see Senate Bill 1210 | http://bit.ly/cPJfFG]
Folks who attended the Dept. of Finance's briefing for the educational community following Arnold's Friday press conference noted an 'in-your-face' arrogance from the briefers ...always attractive in folks ripping the rug (and the safety net) out from under the poor, unemployed, infirm and young.
ON ANOTHER FRONT, the courts ruled (preliminarily) the right way on the ACLU suit against LAUSD at Markham, Gompers and Liechty Middle Schools about pink-slip teacher layoffs and seniority rules. And everyone - the mayor, governor, superintendent and UTLA - joined in self graduating photo-opportunistic grandstanding in support of the ruling. This is quite interesting ...but wasn't the LAUSD superintendent, the Mayor's Partnership (as operator of two of the schools in question), and UTLA (whose contract was being enforced in the layoffs)- the defendants/losing parties in that case? Why was there a suit in the first place if everyone know they were wrong?
● Incidentally: The case is not precedent-setting in terms of teacher tenure; the injunction was awarded narrowly on the terms of the Rodriguez Consent Decree - an earlier court action.
● Co-incidentally: Despite the layoffs last year and the threat of more this year, the LAUSD-operated Liechty MS met their AYP goals; the Mayor's Partnership schools did not. In fairness I must admit that Green Dot Locke met theirs; Fremont - teetering on takeover/reconstitution - did not. 4LAKids favors fresh-squeezed over reconstituted - for whatever that's worth.
APROPOS OF PINK SLIPS: "I'd be remiss, Diane, if I didn't take sad note this week about the insecurity facing hundreds of thousands of pink-slipped teachers right now—regardless of its impact on schooling. Some "reformers" think insecurity is at the heart of good work. As though we must pit children and adults against each others interests. Instead, we need to link what's good for the kids with what's good for society, as we do when it comes to what's "good" for our own children with what's good for all members of our family." - Deborah Meiers in EdWeek 5/13/10
AND FINALLY: The CDE's 2009 CST/API/AYP/APR test score results were published (go to http://bit.ly/bQSxyO for your schools' score). Scores are generally up. What is interesting is the spectrum of enthusiasm and derision with which the media, critics and pundits interpreted them - with the adjectives running from "Huge headway" and "Top ten" to "State's lowest performing". "There are folks out there," a colloquial wit observed, "...who'd be upset if you hanged 'em with a new rope!"
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
________________
"Everyday I dream about a world without violence. Someday will my dream come true?" -Sabrina/7th grade - Washington DC.
DO THE WRITE THING: If your middle school isn't participating in the "Do the Write Thing" program, it should be. DtWT fosters writing skills in seventh and eighth graders; it turns them lose in a violent world armed only with a pen or pencil and an empty page. And their own infinite imaginations.
Last week I went to a wine and cheese party honoring the program's mentor teachers (there really isn't enough wine and cheese in LAUSD!) - Saturday we honored the students and their parents with certificates and goodie bags and Subway sandwiches. A fine time was had by all. The energy of young minds finding their own voices - and the old folks listening and empowering them was electric. A couple of the young storytellers will be going to Washington DC - but the truth is that all 1000 plus LAUSD DtWT program participants are stars - and constellations and galaxies are forming in their marvelous expanding universe!
Maybe - still lost in my own metaphor - middle schools that Do the Write Thing are fresh squeezed .... and perhaps the others are candidates for reconstitution!
SCHWARZENEGGER'S REVISED STATE BUDGET @ A GLANCE
Associated Press Writer Juliet Williams compiled this report.| from the San Francisco Chronicle
Friday, May 14, 2010 17:15 PDT , CA (AP) --Here are details of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year.
CLOSE THE $19.1 BILLION DEFICIT THROUGH:
*$12.4 in spending cuts.
*$3.4 billion in federal money.
*$3.3 billion in other measures, primarily through borrowing from other state funds. The others include: $450 million from the sale of 24 state office buildings, despite the governor's promise that he would not go through with the sale if it doesn't work out in the taxpayers' favor (multiple reports have said the sale appears to be a bad deal for taxpayers in the long run); $76 million from a 4.8 percent property insurance surcharge to pay for firefighting and other emergency services.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
About $3.7 billion in reductions, including:
*$1.1 billion through the elimination of CalWORKS, the state's primary welfare program, which serves 1.4 million people, two-thirds of them children.
*$750 million in unspecified cuts to the state's in-home supportive services program for the disabled, achieved through reductions in wages and services.
*Cuts $532 million from Medi-Cal, the state's medical program for the poor, by reducing eligibility, limiting doctor's visits to 10 per year, reducing funding for hearing aids and other medical equipment, and increasing copays.
*Cuts $15 million from Healthy Families, which provides health care to nearly 700,000 children from low-income families, shifting more of the costs to recipients, including raising the co-payment for emergency room visits from $15 to $50.
PRISONS
$1.2 billion in cuts:
*$811 million reduction in prison health care expenses by making the system more efficient and reducing funding.
*About $360 million in savings by shifting nonviolent offenders out of state prisons and into county jails and by reducing the juvenile prison population and closing the facilities that house them.
EDUCATION
*Proposes to hold spending at $48 billion for K-12 schools, community colleges and the four-year university systems, but includes a $1.4 billion reduction in the Proposition 98 guarantee by eliminating subsidized child care services for 142,000 children. Federal money would remain available for about 78,000 children who are deemed the neediest.
*Restores $45.5 million for CalGrants that the governor had proposed suspending.
*Ends his proposal to cut $111.8 million for UC and CSU enrollment growth and reduce CalGrants by $79 million by freezing income eligibility and award levels. The budget says those cuts will "no longer be considered as budget solution options under any circumstances."
STATE EMPLOYEES
Three-day-a-month furloughs would end on June 30 under the governor's proposal. All state employees instead would be subject to a once-a-month unpaid personal day, regardless of whether their programs are funded from general or special funds.
The governor's proposal also maintains other measures he proposed in January, including:
*Payroll reductions of 5 percent across all state departments, except for constitutional offices, which already achieved 5 percent reductions. The administration says much of the payroll reduction can be achieved by departments not filling current vacancies.
*A 5 percent pay cut for all state workers and a 5 percent increase in their pension contributions. The administration says this will save $1.6 billion.
STATE PARKS
Restores $140 million from the state's general fund for state parks. The governor earlier had proposed funding the parks with revenue from expanded oil drilling off the Santa Barbara coast. Schwarzenegger backed off that plan after the massive explosion and oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
CATCHING SPEEDERS
*Would upgrade existing red light cameras at city and county intersections to fine speeders up to $325 per violation. The administration says the tickets generated by the technology would raise about $338 million a year for government operations, a portion of which would be used to improve courthouse security. About 15 percent of each fine would go to local governments, with the rest of the money — estimated by the administration at $206 million — going to the state.
PTA CALLS GOVERNOR’S BUDGET ‘INTOLERABLE AND UNCONSCIONABLE’
from California State PTA
SACRAMENTO - Jo A.S. Loss, president of California State PTA, issued the following statement in response to the Governor's May Revision of the 2010-2011 budget proposal.
The Governor continues to propose cuts to education, children's programs and critical social services that are intolerable and unconscionable. The first responsibility of our elected officials is to meet the fundamental needs of all of our children, including a quality education.
The Governor stated that a budget should be a reflection of what we value most. Yet, his proposal does not at all support what Californians care about most: our children.
The Governor also spoke about the need to create jobs and stimulate our economy. Healthy, well educated students are critical for a strong economy.
Any responsible approach to solving the current fiscal crisis requires a balanced approach, including additional revenues. These brutal cuts jeopardize the future of our children and the future of our state.
We are deeply disturbed that the Governor's May Revision chooses to solve the state's current fiscal crisis with massive cuts. This was not the only option. Choosing to impose these cuts on our children and their neighborhood schools is unacceptable.
We call upon all Californians to speak up and demand a budget that invests in and meets the needs of California's 9 million children.
We have seen more than $17 billion in cuts to public education in the last two years. The Governor's May revision proposal continues to cut $2.4 billion more from schools. Class sizes are increasing, and we are already losing arts, music, gifted programs and extra-curricular activities. Our most vulnerable students are losing academic support programs and intervention services. School libraries are closing or reducing the hours they are available to students. Already among the last in the nation in the number of nurses, librarians and counselors per student, we are losing even more of these critical members of our education communities.
PTA is equally worried about the threats to the health, safety and well-being of California's children. Eliminating CalWORKS, child care and other programs will have a devastating effect.
The people of California want a budget that reflects their values. 79 percent of California voters are opposed to making further cuts to public schools to reduce the state budget deficit. A majority of Californians believe that there is not enough state funding going to public schools, and 66 percent would be willing to pay higher taxes to maintain current funding for public schools.
Business officials agree that investing in education is critical. Top Silicon Valley business leaders note that improving K-12 education is one of the most important things the state should do to improve the business climate. Good schools are needed to recruit the best employees.
The future prosperity of our state requires a well-educated workforce able to compete in the global economy. Brutal cuts to our schools and critical services to children jeopardize California's future.
NONSTOP WORK ON RttT 2.0
By John Fensterwald in The Educated Guess
May 13th, 2010 -- California’s forthcoming second-round application for Race to the Top may be a long-shot, but the half-dozen districts behind the effort sure aren’t treating it as such.
Staffers in the districts and consultants writing the application are working round the clock in shifts to get the document ready for submission in late May, Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson told a legislative hearing on Wednesday. And he expressed confidence that additional districts will sign a memorandum of understanding, committing them to the plan that is now in the works.
California placed 27th out of 41 applications in the first round, with glaring weaknesses in two priority areas that knocked points off the state’s score. Its statewide student data system is still in its infancy, beset with delays and technical problems And the participation of districts in the first round was low: 47 percent of districts encompassing 58 percent of the state’s students but only a quarter of its local unions.
But Education Secretary Bonnie Reiss said that personal calls form U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to her and Gov. Schwarzenegger persuaded the state, however belatedly, to reapply. Duncan kept saying, “Read Georgia’s application,” she told legislators.
Georgia landed third, with 433 points out of 500 – just out of the money and 97 points ahead of California – even though only 13 percent of its districts and no local unions signed on. But those were large districts, representing nearly half of its minority and low-income students.
In his statements since the two winners, Delaware and Tennessee were announced, Duncan has vacillated – or been intentionally ambiguous – between praising states that recruited most districts and unions to participate and citing states with strong reforms but little buy-in from districts. He has implied that either option could win the second round.
California is taking an unorthodox tack of having a half-dozen districts, not the state, take the lead in crafting the proposal. Reiss calls it a “bottom-up approach.” The six unified districts – Los Angeles, Long Beach, Fresno, San Francisco, Sanger and Clovis – have close to a million students.
Reiss said that the application will make up for lost points by emphasizing how the individual districts already are vigorously using use their own data systems for student improvement. This will be combined by creating effective teacher and principal evaluation systems, using a number of measures, including scores on the California Standards Tests. None of the districts are talking about a straight merit pay based on that annual test, Reiss said, although all are talking about alternative pay systems, locally negotiated, using other factors. Teachers in a failing school who have been evaluated more than once as ineffective will be required to transfer to another school, she said.
Hanson endorsed the reforms – expanding the use of data for student improvement, turning around low-performing schools and creating more effective teacher evaluations – that Race to the Top is promoting. While not expressing confidence in winning, he did say that districts are benefiting already from working together on the application process.
The state’s application will be completed May 28. MOUs for districts to consider signing will be ready next week.
LAUSD TO CHANGE SCHOOL CHOICE PROCEDURE
By Connie Llanos, Staff Writer | LA Daily News
5/12/2010 -- Los Angeles Unified officials said Tuesday they have learned lessons from the first year of the landmark School Choice reform plan and intend to make key changes as they prepare to launch the next round later this month.
The School Choice plan, which lets outside operators bid to run new and low-performing schools, was approved by the school board last summer.
It drew fierce opposition from district employee unions that called the effort a "giveaway" of schools, while some of the bidders complained they had little time to prepare.
This year, however, district officials said they will have fewer schools go through the process, and applicants will have more time to develop proposals and get community members involved.
"Throughout this process we've collected feedback on ways to improve the process and ensure parent and community engagement," said LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines.
Officials said they will release a list of new participating schools May 24 that is expected to include nine newly built schools set to open in fall 2011 and about a dozen existing schools.
Last year, 36 campuses were selected in late September to go through the bidding process – giving many little time to plan and prepare.
Educators and other applicants will also have more time to set up community meetings to get parents involved, since initial applications for schools will not be accepted until late June and then final applications – after parent and teacher feedback – will not be due until December.
Last year the bidding process also allowed school employees, parents and community members to vote for their favorite plan, but few parents participated while teachers and outside applicants raised accusations of foul play in the voting.
LAUSD board member Nury Martinez said she hopes changes would also be made to the voting process, which was handled by the League of Women Voters at a cost of about $100,000.
"That was … a mess," Martinez said, referring to the vote itself.
District officials said they intend to change the voting process but could not offer details yet.
"We will get better and better every year," said Matt Hill, a special assistant to Cortines in charge of implementing the School Choice process.
A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, said the union still opposes any reform effort that allows nondistrict operators – who are not required to hire union workers – to take over district schools.
But district teachers and administrators were able to keep control of 28 out of 36 participating district schools last year and the union leader said he intends to continue that trend this year.
"I'm still not happy with the giveaway of schools … but we will participate because I know that with teachers and parents coming together we will bring about sustainable change."
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
California Budget Project: ‘QUICK & DIRTY’ REVIEW OF THE MAY BUDGET REVISE: 100514_May_Revise[1] http://bit.ly/cN9XMi
THE BUDGET. THE LINE. THE SAND. Politics as (un)usual: ‘Cut, baby, cut!’ No new taxes. Wishful thinking. Broken Pr... http://bit.ly/b16tyS
SCHWARZENEGGER'S REVISED STATE BUDGET @ A GLANCE: Associated Press Writer Juliet Williams compiled this report.| f... http://bit.ly/a0OMyj
Dan Walters: CALIFORNIA BUDGET CRISIS COULD BE CHANCE FOR BIG FIX: By Dan Walters- The Sacramento Bee SAT... http://bit.ly/aM5V8h
DIANE+DEBORAH | BRIDGING DIFFERENCES: Charters & Their Shallow Community Roots + A Double Standard on Test Scores:... http://bit.ly/dBJTlU
PTA CALLS GOVERNOR’S BUDGET ‘INTOLERABLE AND UNCONSCIONABLE’: from California State PTA SACRAMENTO - Jo A.S. Loss... http://bit.ly/aA9dCK
CALIFORNIA PROGRESS REPORT DOESN’T REPORT MUCH: Bad, Bad Budget Cuts + Hurting Kids & Seniors To Protect the Rich:... http://bit.ly/dyRRoT
VIDEO: Governor Schwarzenegger Unveils 2010-11 Revised State Budget Proposal: 5/14/2010 - Governor Schwarzenegger ... http://bit.ly/acSkln
SCHWARZENEGGER UNVEILS AUSTERE BUDGET PLAN: The governor's proposal would eliminate the state's welfare-to-work pr... http://bit.ly/baJmJj 2
NONSTOP WORK ON RttT 2.0: By John Fensterwald in The Educated Guess May 13th, 2010 -- California’s forthcoming ... http://bit.ly/d9ZfXD
Report: FEW HISPANIC HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS EARN G.E.D.: By The Associated Press from Edweek 14 May – Miami -- A ... http://bit.ly/ci3mx2 6:53 AM
LAUSD SCHOOL MAKES HUGE HEADWAY IN API SCORE: Robert Holguin | KABC News | http://bit.ly/bWuqBw Thursday, May ... http://bit.ly/czE0Bg
UTLA: JUDGE RULES AGAINST LAUSD IN ACLU LAWSUIT - LAUSD caused court case by not following its own policy to balan... http://bit.ly/dn6HGW
COURTS DOING SCHOOL’S JOB: L.A. Unified must change teacher contracts to include saner rules that benefit disadvan... http://bit.ly/bw0EM5
LAUSD HIGH SCHOOLS, 1 MIDDLE SCHOOL, 26 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS EARN TOP “10” API RANKINGS: 6:01 p.m. | KPCC Wire Se... http://bit.ly/9Z1t5o
Half-Empty/Half-Full: MAJORITY OF LAUSD SCHOOLS AMONG STATE’S LOWEST CAMPUSES –or- LAUSD TEST SCORES CONTINUE TO I... http://bit.ly/c6YSnz
ON THE BACKS OF CHILDREN: How UTLA's teacher-layoff rules are devastating inner-city L.A. schools: By BETH BARRETT... http://bit.ly/bKyf1a
L.A. UNIFIED BARRED FROM BUDGETARY TEACHER LAYOFFS AT THREE SCHOOLS: Court ruling is meant to help the poor-... http://tinyurl.com/33mol6y
LOS ANGELES SCHOOL BUREAUCRATS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HARD TIMES: Op-Ed By JON COUPAL | Metropolitan News-Enterprise (T... http://bit.ly/9OEC6T
LAUSD TO CHANGE SCHOOL CHOICE PROCEDURE: By Connie Llanos, Staff Writer | LA Daily News 5/12/2010 -- Los Angeles ... http://bit.ly/a9TohD
A BETTER WAY TO BUILD A TEACHER: It's time for schools of education to embrace new routes to teacher certification... http://bit.ly/9M7xbb
TIME TO REPLACE LOS ANGELES' THIRD WORLD EDUCATION SYSTEM: By Fernando Espuelas in the Huffington Post | http://hu... http://bit.ly/cQVeI9
L.A. Times: NO ON THE PARCEL TAX: Los Angeles Times Editorial/Ballot Recommendation L.A. Unified has not proved t... http://bit.ly/9W3inP
AS DEMAND FOR HIGH SCHOOL COACHES RISE, SALARIES SOAR TO SIX FIGURES +: By Eric Sondheimer | LA Times | http://bit... http://bit.ly/cWsTKH
WHY CHARTER SCHOOLS FAIL THE TEST: Op-Ed By CHARLES MURRAY | New York Times May 4, 2010 -- Burkittsvill... http://bit.ly/9nEmFs
PUSH TO SPUR INNOVATION RAISES HOPES – AND EYEBROWS: By Erik W. Robelen and Michele McNeil | Ed Week | Vol. 29, Is... http://bit.ly/dm0nmQ
MORE DISTRICTS FACTORING POVERTY INTO STUDENT ASSIGNMENT PLANS: Socioeconomics Replacing Race in School Assignment... http://bit.ly/9qJO9w
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-241.8700
What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Yolie.Flores.Aguilar@lausd.net • 213-241-6383
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Nury.Martinez@lausd.net • 213-241-6388
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385
Steve.Zimmer@lausd.net • 213-241-6387
...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600
• Call or e-mail Governor Schwarzenegger: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
• Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school.
• Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it!
• Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child.
• If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE.
• If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE.
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT.
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