standardista propaganda posing as news

[Peter Farruggio <pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu>]

This scurrilous hit piece against the teachers' union and liberal-ish 
Democrats appeared in California newspapers across the state on 
Thursday, not as an opinion column, but as a straight news 
story.  Apparently, it originated with the AP; but it looks like it 
was doctored by somebody.  This is the Kern County version, published 
on an ABC online site.  I first saw it in print in the Oakland 
Tribune newspaper.


http://www.turnto23.com/news/16579900/detail.html


Bill Would Dilute Fixes For Failing Calif. School Districts

POSTED: 7:17 pm PDT June 11, 2008
UPDATED: 9:15 am PDT June 12, 2008
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Democratic leader of the state Senate is 
pushing legislation to weaken intervention plans for California's 
worst-performing school districts, subverting a deal between Gov. 
Arnold Schwarzenegger and the superintendent of schools.

The bill by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata would restrict the 
power of the state Board of Education to sanction schools and 
districts that fail to meet the goals of the federal No Child Left 
Behind Act. It also jeopardizes some $47 million in federal money for 
struggling California schools.

In March, the state Board of Education approved a compromise between 
the Republican governor and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack 
O'Connell, a Democrat, that imposed a sliding scale of sanctions 
against 97 failing school districts, 11 of which are in Kern County.

The districts face sanctions for the first time this year under the 
federal law after failing to meet their achievement goals for three 
consecutive years. Together, they are responsible for educating 
nearly a third of California's 6.3 million public school students.

The districts would have to take a range of measures, from reporting 
on how they are implementing the federal law to having a team of 
specialists assess every aspect of their operations.

One district, Coachella Valley Unified in Riverside County, was 
ordered to have an administrator who could act in place of the 
superintendent or locally elected school board to change operations.

Two local districts in the top six and in the severe sanctions 
category are Fairfax Elementary School District and Arvin Union 
Elementary School District. Six other districts are in line for 
moderate sancations, they are Richland Union Elementary, Vineland 
Elementary, Wasco Union Elementary, Bakersfield City Elementary, 
McFarland Unified School District and Taft City Elementary. Three 
more districts are on the light sanctions list, those districts are 
Delano Union School District, Kern Union High School District and 
Greenfield Union Elementary.

The state's powerful education lobby, headed by the California 
Teachers Association, opposes giving an outside administrator such 
sweeping authority.

Perata's legislation would limit the role of state-appointed 
administrators to a responsive one -- allowing them to halt or 
rescind the actions of the locally elected school board. They would 
not be able to set policy or fire administrators who are seen as 
contributing to the district's problems, under Perata's bill.

The bill failed to muster the two-thirds approval it needed in the 
state Assembly on Tuesday, but lawmakers said they will reconsider it 
Thursday. If approved, it would go back to the Senate.

Preserving the power of local school districts is important for the 
teachers union, as dozens of California districts are expected to 
enter this next phase of the federal law over the next few years. 
Historically, the union has been adept at concentrating power locally.

The CTA opposes all sanctions for schools and districts that fail to 
meet the goals of the federal law. Instead, the union prefers 
programs such as class-size reduction and tutorials to help 
struggling students.

O'Connell is urging holdout Assembly Republicans to approve Perata's 
bill, even though it would undermine much of the agreement he struck 
with Schwarzenegger over how to address the underperforming districts.

O'Connell cited the $47 million in federal money the state is in line 
to receive as it seeks to turn those districts around. The state must 
decide how it will spend about $18 million of that money by 
September, or it risks losing it altogether.

But O'Connell also needs to curry favor with the California Teachers 
Association as he considers a run for governor in 2010. Opposition 
from the union can sink a Democrat's candidacy.

Andrea Ball, O'Connell's deputy superintendent of governmental 
affairs, said the state needs to set clear guidelines for the power 
of state-appointed administrators as it enters new territory with the 
federal law.

"The ultimate goal is to get the district operating effectively," 
Ball said. "We need this policy clarity ... to understand what the 
role of a trustee is."

Perata's bill goes much further than that, limiting school districts 
to just one sanction every three years and scaling back the 
board-approved plan in other ways.

For instance, principals and other school administrators who would 
have been required to explain before the state Board of Education why 
their districts were not improving after an intervention instead 
would be subject to a review by the state superintendent. The 
superintendent would evaluate their ability to fix the problems and 
whether the district had enough money to do it.

Perata's office said the plan passed by the state board did not 
establish uniform guidelines for districts about what would subject 
them to sanctions or how to get out of them. It also failed to say 
how long school districts might be subject to outside intervention, 
according to Perata's office.

Perata, D-Oakland, believes local districts should retain control 
over their operations, said Lynda Gledhill, a spokeswoman for the 
Senate leader.

U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings singled out California's 
plan to tackle failing districts after it was announced by 
Schwarzenegger and O'Connell earlier this year. She praised their 
actions as "bold and necessary."

Nationwide, 411 school districts in 27 states face intervention under 
No Child Left Behind, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Spellings' office declined comment Wednesday on the bill that would 
soften the plan. State Board of Education President Ted Mitchell also 
did not return a call seeking comment.

Assemblywoman Jean Fuller, R-Bakersfield, said the appointed state 
board takes input from all of California's education bodies and 
remains the best place for transparent hearings about school reform.

She also criticized holding federal money hostage in a bill that 
would make major changes to the way the state oversees schools.

"If you want to have this little political volleyball game of who 
controls what ... do it in another bill and just do one that 
appropriates the money," Fuller said.

Sen. Mark Wyland, R-Solana Beach, plans to offer such a bill Thursday.

Even if the Legislature does not act to secure the federal money, the 
state Board of Education's earlier action stands. Failing school 
districts will be forced to pay for intervention teams, turnaround 
experts and new curriculum without any additional money.

School districts were eligible to receive up to $250,000 in federal 
funding under the plan approved by the state board.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said the governor will not 
support any measure that would diminish the state's authority to 
improve student performance.

"He's asking the Legislature to approve the federal funds that he has 
budgeted for these schools without encroaching on the state board's 
ability to do its job," McLear said.

If the Legislature eventually approves the Perata plan, 
Schwarzenegger is likely to veto it. ------

On the Net:

Read the bills, SB606 and SB493, at: www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html

Copyright 2008 by <mailto:baknews@turnto23.com>TurnTo23.com. The 
Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. 
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.