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

[Marilyn Langlois <langlois-rine@comcast.net>]

George--
How discouraging!  It's really unbelievable how these guys are perpetuating
institutionalized child abuse.

Thank you for staying in there and advocating tirelessly for these young
kids, George!!

Marilyn

> From: George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>
> Reply-To: ca-resisters@interversity.org
> Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 23:02:27 -0700
> To: ca-resisters@serv1.ncte.org,<ca-resisters@interversity.org>
> Subject: [ca-resisters] State Superintendent on Final Budget Agreement --
> Grade 2 Testing
> 
> 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
> ----------------------------------------------------------
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