State Superintendent on Final Budget Agreement -- Grade 2 Testing

[George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>]

 Fabian Núñez and Dom Perata gave Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jack O'Connell what
they wanted.

Although second grade STAR testing ended on June 31st, and although bills to
revive it died in both houses of the legislature this year, and although it was
not approved by the fiscal committees in either house, funding for the test was
reinstated in the budget deal.



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SCHOOLS CHIEF JACK O'CONNELL COMMENTS ON PASSAGE OF FINAL BUDGET AGREEMENT

SACRAMENTO - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today
issued the following statement regarding legislative approval of a budget for
fiscal year 2007-08:

"On behalf of all Californians who have been impacted by the protracted budget
stalemate, I'm relieved that the Legislature has finally approved a balanced
budget plan. I applaud the Legislature for approving a spending plan that meets
the minimum Proposition 98 guarantee and provides cost-of-living adjustments for
our public school operations. This level of funding for public education will
allow our schools to maintain ongoing efforts to improve student achievement.

"I am pleased that the budget bill includes funding to continue the Standardized
Testing and Reporting or STAR program for students in second grade. This
assessment program is an important part of our system of school accountability
and our efforts to ensure that students don't fall behind in the early grades.

"I am very disappointed, however, that the Legislature did not make it a priority
to support local districts in collecting and maintaining the quality individual
student data that our state needs to track graduation and dropout rates and to
better measure student performance over time. School district participation in
CALPADS, the state's developing longitudinal student data tracking system, is
critical to informed decision making. Funding for local data collection and
maintenance is vital to improve the accuracy of student data used to assess
education programs and target our state's resources most effectively. I will
continue to pursue this funding with the Governor and the Legislature in the
coming year.

"I also will continue discussions with my fellow policymakers about how we
provide adequate funding for our schools so we can prepare all students to
compete in the challenging and competitive global economy. Closing the
achievement gap between students who are white and their peers who are African
American or Latino is the most important part of this effort. I look forward to
working with the Governor and Legislature to find ways to ensure our schools are
up to this challenge. Doing so is essential to both our students' and our state's
long-term economic success." 

"Unfortunately, the delay in passing a budget caused a huge imposition for many
of California businesses that provide services to our state's most vulnerable
citizens. State-funded childcare centers, for example, faced tremendous financial
strain as state funding was put on hold during the budget fight. Many of the
individuals who operate these state-funded centers serving 500,000 children had
to seek high-interest loans to keep their doors open during the last 51 days. I
appreciate these centers' commitment to provide child care services and hope that
outstanding payments are quickly made to these centers and other businesses and
individuals relying on state funding."

George Sheridan