November 30, 2007

Governor reaches out to education lobby

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a last-minute stop Friday in San Diego for what a participant called a "candid and frank" discussion with the education lobby about the difficult choices ahead for California schools.

During the hastily arranged meeting in a hotel suite, Schwarzenegger gave no indication what his plans are for school funding as he prepares his January budget plan, said California School Boards Association Executive Director Scott Plotkin.

The state is currently projected to fall $10 billion short for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Schwarzenegger suggested that the current budget environment will force the administration to scale back on what was expected to be the "year of education" in 2008.

Instead of tackling the achievement gap in one year, changes will have to be made over several years.

"He's not going to make 2008 a year of education reform," Plotkin said. "It's going to be a multi-year effort on a whole range of things, whether it's revenues or expenses or closing the achievement gap."

Plotkin said the hourlong meeting with Schwarzenegger and his education cabinet member, David Long, was held in his suite at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina, where CSBA was holding its annual conference at the nearby convention center.

Other education representatives in attendance included the Association of California School Administrators, California Association of School Business Officials, California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, and Parent Teachers Association.

"It was just his attempt to reach out to us," Plotkin said. "We didn't agree to anything because we're miles ahead of that."

Plotkin said the governor broached the idea of recalculating Proposition 98 in the current budget but did not announce a decision. The Legislative Analyst's Office has indicated the Legislature can take action to lower K-14 funding by $400 million because revenues are expected to fall $2 billion below projection.

The education lobby pointed out to Schwarzenegger that school boards lack the authority to raise local property taxes to meet their needs.

Plotkin said the governor is going through a "heartfelt review of what it takes to find the middle ground" between educating California's schoolchildren and tempering government spending.

Posted by Judy Lin on November 30, 2007 4:27 PM