Another committee report has hit the newspapers in California. This group, made up of big names in Democratic and Republican politics and business, were charged with developing proposals to overcome the issues in California that have led to nagging dysfunction. Officially known as The Think Long Committee, it was brought together by the Nicolas Berggruen Institute to make “structural and constitutional changes that will break the present gridlock, make government more responsive and efficient while at the same time putting in place the incentives and Institutions vital for California’s long-term future.”
The committee’s main function was to design a “blueprint” for the state budget and taxes. In addition, the group has addressed education, noting the past high quality of education and the loss of funds to sustain the quality.
Anything that will help education in California is welcome. So far the main principle is to raise the funds spent on K-12 and community colleges and more funds for the University of California (UC) and California State Universities (CSU). Also, proposals for teacher and principal evaluation are prominent in the plan. See bullets for meaningful evaluation, non-seniority based lay-offs, earned tenure over 5 years, equitable distribution of teacher talent, and data analysis in the report. The generalizations seem a lot like the proposals put forward by the U.S. Department of Education but also represent thinking by people outside of the education field. How much did the new state superintendent contribute? And, until teachers are included in the deliberations, the proposals will remain generalizations. Neither the superintendent’s name nor the names of any teachers were listed in the report. The president of CTA and the superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School district were listed.
Looking again at the design for the California state budget and taxes, it includes best practices, and includes a new tax rate initiative for voters to approve in November 2012. The new tax rate is supposed to generate revenue to support schools. Also, a citizen’s watchdog group, which is supposed to make sure all the recommendations occur, is a proposed initiative for November 2012. Right now, there are organizations, California AAUW for example, examining the Initiative Process itself and recommending changes. So initiatives are currently up in the air.
However, if there are no changes, there will be no benefit for schools. The big obstacle in the room is Proposition 13, of course. Until brave souls are willing to make further revisions to that insidious legislation will money ever appear for schools?
Finally, it is a shame that university and city administrators can’t see the value in letting the Occupiers demonstrate, like UC students did at the UC regents’ meetings on Monday, November 28, 2012. Over time, the majority of those people will be working and paying taxes, so what does it say when the sites they occupy are public property, but the occupiers are treated as criminals? All of the members of the Think Long Committee are well-to-do and hold sway in the state. What will the occupiers think of the committee’s proposals if speech is cut off?
See the editorial “A solid set of reforms” in the San Francisco Chronicle, November 27, 2012. For a look at the detail of the report go to www.berggruen.org/thinklongcommittee.
