Re: State Superintendent on Final Budget Agreement -- Grade 2 Testing

[Susan Harman <susanharman@igc.org>]

Why do you blame Nunez and Perata? What did they do and how do you 
know? I will make it my job to take them down. Well, Perata at least, 
since hes my senator, and nemesis.
Susan

On Tuesday, August 21, 2007, at 11:02 PM, George Sheridan wrote:

>  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
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> Direct questions about the list to listmom@interversity.net
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