Realignment of Education Priorities, Funding Needed in California By U.S. Representative Michael Honda (D-CA) Milpitas Post[WEBSITE VERSION] July 16, 2009
In recent columns published by this newspaper, Milpitas Unified School District Superintendent Karl Black and Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese rightly focused on the specter of impending education cuts and the stark reality of current cuts in the California state budget and the need to prepare accordingly. They were right: the cuts have been devastating.
Has it really come to this? How loud does our plea need to be until we prioritize our students? As a former teacher, principal, school board member and Santa Clara County supervisor, I fervently agree we must fund our schools. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, I worked with the president and my colleagues in Congress to bring $2.7 million in federal education dollars to Santa Clara County schools. But this represents a short-term stimulus. Long-term, we need a complete realignment of education priorities and accompanying funding in California.
The direction in which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking California with regard to education is a dangerous and deeply disappointing one. I recognize Sacramento's dilemma in light of the economic woes stemming from Bush-era policymaking, but education must be off-limits. The governor's cuts significantly set back our capacity to provide an equitable education to each child, undermine already-struggling and cash-strapped schools (adversely impacting those most vulnerable), and positions California for further economic hardship in the long term.
The $9-million revenue shortfall facing Milpitas Unified School District, for example, which Superintendent Black made mention of, means "fewer teachers, counselors, administrators" and results in "higher class sizes, fewer services and programs for our students" all of which undermine our ability to provide each child with a quality education.
Milpitas is not alone in facing cuts. In California, this reality is particularly problematic, given that all schools are not treated equally. California ranks the highest in the country in per-pupil spending disparity; one school district spends more than four times what the lowest district spends. Better-funded districts have higher teacher salaries, lower student-teacher ratios, higher standardized test scores, and higher graduation rates than those who struggle with half the funding. Funding disparities are common across the nation. Our highest spending American school district spends 9.12 times more per pupil than the lowest-spending district. Universal formulas for education spending cuts only exacerbate these harmful disparities.
This chipping away of education spending must stop. Education must not take a beating in attempts to stem California's budget shortfall. Why, because education facilitates innovation, which is a critical engine of our economy, serves as the gateway to realizing America's potential, and is also the great equalizer, seen in leaders like President Barack Obama. To forego investing in America's future potential will only fetter our nation's ability to strengthen our economy and our competitiveness.
We are indeed facing severe financial straits, but the question is not entirely about available dollars. In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Congress allocated $8 billion in pre-kindergarten- through 12th-grade education funding for California alone. This makes good policy sense. A stimulus package focused on job creation without future workers to fill these jobs would be ill-conceived. That is why, I, along with my colleagues in Congress, will continue to fight for every federal dollar available in order to properly educate California's young and properly prepare for California's future.
Given the right road map and sufficient resources, each child will have an opportunity to succeed. Until that point, we in California, and other states facing similar choices, leave the potential of our future our children behind, ill equipped to make the journey.
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Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, and is a former teacher, school principal and school board member.