Educators Support Tony Thurmond for SPI | State Council

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Selecting a Superintendent of Public Instruction

What makes the superintendent far more than a glorified administrator is the authority that comes with a popularly elected mandate.

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The most persuasive evidence that the California Dream is rooted in Enlightenment notions of free public education, democratic governance and equity can be found in the state’s founding document. Not only does the 1849 Constitution sketch out the contours of public schools, accountability, a funding mechanism and a Department of Education, but the framers stipulate that it be led by an elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI).

Fast-forward 169 years to the election of a new superintendent and the latest test of California’s commitment to its foundational cornerstone. The stakes are high. Though California spends 40 percent (or $56 billion) of its $138 billion budget on its six-million student public school system, the past four decades have seen the state slip from among the top-five states for school funding to consistently rankingin the bottom five. Whoever is elected on November 6 will have a historic opportunity to correct the course of a system in which the public good has increasingly been compromised by the competing demands of private interest.

What, exactly, does the superintendent do? The political shorthand typically describes the $175,000-a-year position as Sacramento’s elected equivalent to Betsy DeVos, the Trump-appointed U.S. Secretary of Education.

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The superintendent can use the post’s bully pulpit to act as a super-lobbyist
on behalf of students.

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On paper, the SPI interprets regulations, sets curriculum and teaching standards, collects school accountability data and manages the day-to-day business of the sprawling California Department of Education. The superintendent is thus an implementer but not a maker of policy — which is the bailiwick of the governor and his appointed president of the State Board of Education.

Outside spending in Education Race now reaches $10 million.

Note the arguments in the blog post  below about how outside money is designed to structure education in California.
Here is an update on the  amount of money.   http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article3356114.html

Torlakson Blueprint for Great Schools

Torlakson V Tuck Debate - Public Schools

Torlakson v. Tuck Debate – State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Marshall Tuck

The two candidates for state superintendent of public instruction disagreed on the condition of K-12 education in California, the influence of teachers unions and which of them is best qualified for the job at a forum Saturday in Burlingame, the last scheduled joint appearance before the Nov. 4 election.

Incumbent Tom Torlakson cited “real progress” in restoring money to schools, shifting to new academic standards and increasing high school graduation rates to a record level as indications that schools are headed in the right direction. “This is not the time to put progress at risk,” he said at an hour-long head-to-head debate.

His challenger, Marshall Tuck, cited the need for “fundamental, comprehensive change” to improve academic performance that he said has been stagnant for 20 years – a reference to the state’s performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress – and has left 2.5 million students failing to read and write  at grade level. He cast blame on “the same Sacramento leadership” of  “insiders,  politicians and business as usual” that he identified with Torlakson.

Recording by EdSource .

http://edsource.org/2014/tuck-torlakson-debate-union-power-lawsuit/67916#.VCzNHr6FIXk

This important election - California