California's Children

CA School Bds Ass'n endorse *both* tax initiatives for school $$

UPDATE, May, 2012: In an "unprecedented move," the California School Boards Association (CSBA) has voted to endorse both tax initiatives that would raise revenue for K-12 schools on the November ballot, reports Kevin Yamamura for the Sacramento Bee.

The two initiatives on the ballot are Governor Brown's compromise tax proposal with the California Federation of Teachers that temporarily raises sales tax and income tax on the wealthiest earners, and Molly Munger's  "Our Children, Our Future, 2012," an across-the-board tax hike sponsored by the state PTA. Read below for previously reported details.

188 CA school districts (2.6M students) are broke

UPDATE, May 23, 2012: The list of school districts unable to meet its financial obligations has grown to 188, up from 127 since February, breaking the records for the number of children -- 2.6 million (41% of CA students) --  attending schools with insecure financial futures. These districts include the state's two largest:  Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified.

"This is the kind of record no one wants to set. Across California, parents, teachers, and administrators are increasingly wondering how to keep their schools' lights on, their bills paid, and their doors open," [CA Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom] Torlakson said. 

The California Department of Education released the numbers Monday in its Second Interim Status Report: 12 school districts were assigned a "negative certification," meaning they are unable to meet financial obligations for this school year; 176 school districts were given " qualified certification," indicating there are serious concerns about this year and the following two fiscal years ('12-'13 and '13-'14).

Districts with negative certifications:

1	Los Angeles	Inglewood Unified	124.9
2	Monterey	South Monterey County Joint Union High	18.8
3	Nevada	Nevada City Elementary	8.2
4	San Luis Obispo	Paso Robles Joint Unified	56.2
5	San Mateo	Portola Valley Elementary	11.4
6	Shasta	Cottonwood Union Elementary	7.7
7	Shasta	Pacheco Union Elementary	4.7
8	Solano	Travis Unified	41.4
9	Solano	Vallejo City Unified	139.6
10	Sonoma	Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified	46.4
11	Stanislaus	La Grange Elementary	0.3
12	Tulare	Hot Springs Elementary	0.5

 The record-setting trend may continue, writes Kathryn Baron for Thoughts on Public Education (TOPed): 

The list of districts on the negative and qualified lists may continue to set somber new records depending on what happens in November.  "Second interim certifications are assuming a better budget environment than realistically may be there after November,” Joel Montero, CEO of the state’s fiscal crisis management and assistance team (FCMAT), at left, told TOPed.  ”Without that assumption, it is likely the numbers of qualified and negative districts would have been higher.”

Montero told a state Assembly committee two weeks ago that small and rural districts face the largest impact from another round of midyear cuts. “Small and tiny rural districts don’t really have an economy of scale,” said Montero. They don’t have enough money or students to absorb any additional losses, particularly when those losses come in the form of deferrals, the $9 billion-plus that the state owes to school districts.

...Two of the districts, Vallejo City Unified and South Monterey Joint Union High School, have already been bailed out by the state and are under a state-appointed administrator. 

 The district is seeking to lower the interest rate on its state loan from 5.44% to 1% through legislation, but so far Senate bill 1240 and Assembly bill 1858 are on the suspense files in the appropriations committees of their respective houses.

Previously reported on the First Interim Status Report:

"Grossly ineffective" teachers w/tenure violate student civil rights, suit claims

May 16, 2012: A lawsuit filed by 8 students in the Los Angeles County Superior Court Monday challenges the constitutionality of 5 California statutes that govern teacher tenure rules, seniority protections, and the teacher dismissal process.  The suit claims the statutes violate the students' right to equal protection under law and deprive them of equal access to education.

Howard Blume reported on the litigation for the LA Times.

The suit names Gov Jerry Brown, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, the state Department of Education, Los Angeles Unified School District and Alum Rock Union (an elementary school on San Jose's East Side) as the defendants. The legal team includes Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., at left, a first amendment rights lawyer with LA's major law firm, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, and Theodore B. Olson, U.S. Solicitor General (2001-2004). The funding is coming from philanthropist Eli Broad.

"...the courts are not the right place to make school employment policy." -- Los Angeles Times editorial, May 16, 2012.

"LOL!  Of course the Times would like this matter handled by the Legislature rather than the Courts.  The Legislature is powerless in the face of their teacher union masters to do anything that would substantially change this archaic and unneeded practice...." Condor001, a commenter on the LAT editorial.  

A new non-profit, Students Matter, founded by Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur David F. Welch  is leading the legal challenge to overturn the statutes; several people on itss advisory committtee have faced off with teachers' unions in the past, according to the LAT:

The advisory committee includes Students First, a group headed by former District of Columbia schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee; Democrats for Education Reform, whose California branch is led by former State Senator [and unsuccessful candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction] Gloria Romero; and Parent Revolution.... Also on the committee is  former president of the state Board of Education Ted Mitchell's New Schools Venture Fund ...and Sacramento-based Education Trust-West, an advocacy and research group.

From the complaint:

California students assigned to grossly ineffective teachers who are employed and continue teaching as a direct result of the (5 challenged) statutes are denied equal access to the fundamental right to education required by article IX, sections 1 and 5 of the Constitution of the State of California.

Moreover, as a result of the same statutes, grossly ineffective teachers are disproportionately assigned to schools serving predominantly minority and economically disadvantaged students. Those statutes thus make the quality of education provided to school-age children in California a function of race and/or the wealth of a child's parents and neighbors in violation of the equal protection provisions of the California Constitution.

Listen to the California Report:

2012-05-16 tenure lawsuit

 Written for California's Children by Elizabeth J Carlyle.

San Diego USD board member says give up & let the state take over

May 10, 2012: San Diego Unified School District board member Scott Barnett [at left, in a photo by Sam Hodgson] will take a grim message to today's board meeting, one based on his belief that the only solution to the district's insolvency is to surrender to the state. Barnett's comments were released this morning by Will Carless on Voices of San Diego.

...[Barnett]... wants the district to declare itself insolvent, roll back the 1,600 layoffs it has announced, and pass a budget that’s nowhere near balanced.

It’s a financial kamikaze that would place the district in the direct control of a state-appointed trustee. The superintendent would be fired and the school board would be relegated to an advisory board, with the trustee making all of San Diego Unified’s budgetary decisions instead of politicians.

But Barnett thinks there are distinct benefits to declaring insolvency now. He says the district could keep schools fully staffed until next spring, and he says it’s time for a new system of running city schools, since the school board has effectively run local education into the ground.

Like last October, Barnett doesn’t really seem to believe he has much of a chance of gleaning any votes for his plan from his four colleagues on the school board.

PTA/Munger tax initiative qualifies for the November ballot

May 8, 2012: The California State PTA's  annual convention begins tomorrow at the Anaheim Convention Center. To give momemtum to the gathering, PTA officials announced yesterday that the tax initiative it has sponsored, Our Children, Our Future, 2012, bank-rolled by Molly Munger, has collected enough signatures and will qualify for the ballot in November.

On the conference agenda:

• Keynote by Rosalind Wiseman, at left, anti-bullying expert and author of "Mean Girls"
  
  
• Keynote by University of California president Mark Yudof
  
  
• Guest appearance by Debbie Allen, actress, dancer and choreographer, who is an advocate for art and music in classrooms

• Discussion of Our Children, Our Future, 2012.

• Edsource symposium examining the impact of the state budget deficit on schools. 

Written for California's Children by Elizabeth J Carlyle.