California School Boards Association Congratulates Jerry Brown and Tom Torlakson

West Sacramento, Calif. – The California School Boards Association congratulates Jerry Brown and Tom Torlakson for their victories in the 2010 election as California’s next Governor and State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

“Jerry Brown and Tom Torlakson worked hard for their victories, and we congratulate them and all the winners of statewide and local races,” CSBA President Frank Pugh said. “We look forward to working with them and the new Legislature to reverse the funding losses our schools have labored under in recent years and to improve the climate for learning on which California’s future happiness and prosperity rely.”

The education issues facing Brown and Torlakson are formidable; the reduction of nearly $18 billion in education funding over the past two years; the suspension of Proposition 98’s minimum funding guarantee; unfunded mandates that have saddled schools with responsibilities they lack the resources to address properly; and ongoing, sometimes misguided reform efforts coming out of Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

There is no single cure-all for these problems, but there are some key issues to address. Academic achievement is a priority for all school districts, but that performance is currently based on a standardized test-driven system of evaluating our students and schools. California needs more portfolio-and project-related assessment to truly evaluate academic achievement and – more importantly – to keep our students engaged. Our reform agenda needs to be drive by data and facts, not trial and error. And the most urgent reform needed is the reform of California’s education finance system. By working with the plaintiffs of Robles-Wong v. California, Brown and Torlakson have the opportunity to create a school finance system that provides all students an equal opportunity to meet the academic goals set by the state, and rid our schools of the current system that is unsound, unstable and insufficient.

CSBA invites the new governor and schools chief to work with us and the plaintiffs of the lawsuit – nearly 60 students and parents, nine school districts and county offices of education, the Association of California School Administrators and the California State PTA – to create a solution that will permanently align California’s school finance system to the high academic standards its students are expected to meet.

For more information, please contact Brittany McKannay at (916) 669-3244.