Vantage Point: There’s a new sheriff in town
By:
CSBA President Frank Pugh
Published: January 1, 2010
Before he became the host of the Tonight Show, Jay Leno was a frequent guest on David Letterman’s late night program. Jay would come on the set all hot and bothered, David would prompt him with a simple “so Jay, what’s your beef?,” and hilarity would ensue while Jay proceeded to unburden himself of whatever was on his mind at the moment.
Only time will tell how funny it’s going to be, but with this monthly column I’m planning to take a similar approach. The goal of my presidency will be to tell the truth, no matter how painful it is for some folks to hear. Fair warning: they don’t call me “Grumpy Ol’ Frank” for nothing, and there is plenty going on in the state right now to make me grumpy.
One of those things is the sound and fury surrounding the legislative debate on how California will implement President Obama’s “Race to the Top” initiative. Though things could be sorted out by the time you read this, what it feels like right now is that the governor and a lot of legislators are engaged in a race to see who can pass the worst possible bill as quickly as possible. Now don’t get me wrong—there is a lot about Race to the Top that CSBA supports, and there is no question that it represents a real opportunity for California to improve its education system and ensure equal education for all schoolchildren.
But what a lot of our legislators don’t seem to understand is that the effects of the bill they pass now will be with us for years to come, regardless of how successful we are in getting the Race to the Top dollars. The impacts of the bill will be felt by kids long after the campaigns are over for whatever elective office those legislators are thinking of running for next.
So when we actually see a bit of sanity from the State Assembly, an actual effort to review the federal guidelines and consult with the folks in education who know what’s happening at the local level—board members and administrators—what happens? The bid gets blasted in newspaper editorials for “dragging down” reform efforts. It makes me think that those titans of an industry that is dying before our very eyes should spend more time coming up with a business model that ensures their ongoing existence, rather than opining on matters they clearly know very little about.
And don’t even get me started on this whole “maintenance of effort” issue. I mean, come on—the state is going to ask the feds for permission to give schools less money so it can remain eligible for money that we know is only a drop in the bucket to start with? You’ve got to be kidding me.
Well, I’d better stop there before I raise my blood pressure too high. But be sure to put your local legislators on notice—there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s a bit on the grumpy side.