The Paucity of Dan Walters' Commentary on School Issues

The column by Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee entitled “California’s School Wars Heat Up” in the print edition for Dec.20, and “Powerful Factions Go to War Over Direction of California Schools,” http://www.sacbee.com/2013/12/20/6015661/dan-walters-powerful-factions.html in the on line version  seriously and deliberatively misinforms .  He frames the conflict between the School Establishment ( school administrators, elected officials, CTA]  vs. the “School Reformers”.   These are indeed two of the powerful factions, but not at all the complete story.

To understand the distortion lets see who these “reformers “  See the Democracy and Education Institute  https://sites.google.com/site/democracyandeducationorg

The cadre Walters’ calls reformers  are not reformers. These are a corporate financed  advocates and  some well financed opportunists. In most cases they do not work in schools, rather they work in lobbyist offices financed by the Waltons, the Gates, and others.   See here https://sites.google.com/site/democracyandeducationorg/Home/corporate-funded-reform

There is at least one additional group who Walters ignores- the social justice equity oriented based school reformers who have been working in schools for decades to  improve school opportunities for low income and minority children.

Dan Walters on a slippery slope

 The Sacramento Bee’s prime opinionator makes the argument today that school officials should not be telling the public about the high costs if we do not pass Prop. 30.  He says, “Education Code Section 7054 prohibits K-12 and community college officials from spending public funds "for the purpose of urging the support or defeat of any ballot measure or candidate … ."

The state Supreme Court cited that law three years ago in ruling that it was illegal for a teachers union to use school district facilities to distribute political literature.

Throughout California, however, school officials are sullying the intent of the law by using official communications to plug passage of Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown's sales and income tax increase.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/19/4832914/dan-walters-educators-sullying.html#storylink=cpy

Walters has moved down the slippery slope. Following his argument public employees can’t tell parents and students that tuition increases and budget cuts are coming -  $ 4.5 billion  in cuts to K-12, and  $.5 billion to the universities.

Schools and Taxes - Welcome to Mississippi

            California public schools are in crisis- and they are getting worse. This is a direct result of massive budget cuts imposed by the legislature and the governor in the last four years.  Total per pupil expenditure is down by over $1,000 per student. The result- massive class size increases.  Your students are in often classes too large for learning.  Supplementary services such as tutoring and art classes have been eliminated.  Over 14,000 teachers have been dismissed, and thousands more face lay offs this fall.

            California schools are now 47^th. in the nation in per pupil expenditure and 49^th in class size.  Our low achievement scores on national tests reflect this severe underfunding.

            Of course the economic crisis of 2007 to the present made matters worse.  The state took in some $30 billion less in taxes and thus had less to send to the schools.  School budgets have been cut by some $10 billion.  K-12 education receives about 40% of the California budget.  Thus any decline in the state budget leads directly to cuts in school services.

            The question for the corporate agenda, such as the Chamber of Commerce is can the economy prosper with a poorly educated work force.  California grew and prospered from 1970- 1994 based upon a well educated work force.  Then, in the 1994-2008 period over $10 billion of tax cuts were passed – making the current crisis much worse.  California suffers from a decade of disinvestment.  Today,  instead of following the education  approach,  conservative anti tax forces have imposed an Mississippi approach on California.

Possible tax vote in California

An important piece from Dan Walters.
Prop.25 may actually help.

Dan Walters: Vote margin on taxes key factor

PUBLISHED WEDNESDAY, JAN. 12, 2011 in Sacramento Bee.

A key factor in Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to balance the state budget is whether he and fellow Democrats could do it by themselves, or whether the votes of at least a few Republican legislators would be required.

Politicians and stakeholders are consulting attorneys, but at the moment, no one appears to know for certain – in part because the sections of the state constitution involved have never been legally tested.

….Republicans who voted for the temporary taxes two years ago were hammered by anti-tax groups and radio talkers. So far, GOP leaders have shunned an election to extend them.