Gov. Schwarzenegger Calls Special Session to Ensure California Is Eligible to Compete for Billions in Recovery Funding for Education

PRESS RELEASE
08/20/2009 GAAS:451:09 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gov. Schwarzenegger Calls Special Session to Ensure California Is Eligible to Compete for Billions in Recovery Funding for Education

Announces Legislative Package to Address Obama Administration Requirements On July 24, 2009, President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan outlined federal requirements for states to compete for the largest pool of discretionary funding for education reform in U.S. history - $4.35 billion in Race to the Top dollars available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). With current law, California is ineligible to apply. Billions in future federal education dollars are also expected to rest on a state's ability to meet Obama Administration education reform requirements.

Taking aggressive action and standing firm on his word that California will compete for each and every Recovery dollar in these difficult economic times, Governor Schwarzenegger today called a special session of the legislature and announced a legislative package that will ensure California meets the Obama Administration's eligibility requirements and can be highly competitive for our fair share of Race to the Top funding. The Obama Administration's reforms are policies the Governor has stood behind since taking office - and will help provide a better education for California's school children.

"I stand with President Obama and Secretary Duncan in pushing these education reforms not only to ensure California is eligible and competes for billions in Recovery education dollars, but because I believe they will help provide a better education for California's children," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "California and its education system have felt the effects of the economic downturn and with every child in every classroom depending on us - I call on the legislature to ensure California leads the Race to the Top."

So California can complete the lengthy federal application process and be as competitive as possible, the Governor called on the legislature to have these measures passed by early October.

Reforms to ensure California is eligible to apply and be highly competitive for Race to the Top funding include:

Linking Student Achievement and Teacher Performance Data. Having linked data will increase transparency around how California's students, teachers and schools are performing. With this information, the specific needs of students, teachers and schools can be better addressed.

Measures to Turn-Around Struggling Schools. Turning around struggling schools increases the overall quality of our state's education system.

• Repeal California's charter school cap - an unnecessary barrier to innovation.
• Give parents more freedom to choose the school that best serves their children by both authorizing open enrollment for students in the lowest-performing schools so they can attend any school in the state - and removing the cap on "districts of choice" so any student in the state can attend school in a participating district.
• Focus efforts on the five percent of schools that consistently underperform, helping ensure all California students can reach the state's academic standards.

Measures to Help California Recruit and Retain High-Quality Teachers and Principals.

• Reward teachers who are consistently doing the toughest jobs. Alternative pay schedules highlight effective teaching practices and creates incentives to improve our education system.
• Measure student progress to help identify what works in the classroom. Every child is different and looking at both growth measures and overall achievement scores provides a better picture of a student progress over time.

Improving Accountability for Schools. Modifying how the state uses data to measure performance will help more accurately track the progress of students, teachers and schools on an annual basis - so that California can make continuous improvement in our education system from year to year.

Under Governor Schwarzenegger's leadership, California was the first state in the nation to be federally approved for State Fiscal Stabilization Fund dollars - education funding also available through the Recovery Act. Over $2.5 billion of this funding has been distributed to California schools to date with hundreds of millions of dollars expected in the fall.

Attached is the text of the Governor's proclamation as well as a fact sheet.

President Barack Obama's Recovery and Reinvestment Act consists of over 300 funding streams originating from various federal government agencies and departments. Less than 50 percent of Recovery Act funding is estimated to flow through state government entities, with the rest distributed by the federal government directly to local governments, non-profits, businesses and other entities.

Governor Schwarzenegger created the California Recovery Task Force to track Recovery Act funding coming to entities in California; work with President Barack Obama's administration; ensure funding funneled through state government is spent efficiently and effectively; help cities, counties, non-profits, and others tap into available funding; and maintain a Web site that is frequently and thoroughly updated for Californians to be able to track the stimulus dollars. The Task Force can be reached through its Web site, www.recovery.ca.gov, or by telephone at (916) 322-4688.

National PTA Ushers in Change

FT. LAUDERDALE, FLA. (June 25, 2009) – An historic moment in American history will take place this weekend at National PTA’s convention in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (June 27-29). In an era of firsts, a male will be installed as national president for the first time in PTA’s 113-year history.
Representing a long line of visionary leaders since 1897 for an organization once known as the National Congress of Mothers, Charles “Chuck” Saylors will be the 51st president of National PTA and the first male to assume the position.
As president, Saylors joins Byron V. Garrett, National PTA’s first-ever male African-American Chief Executive Officer, to continue the organization’s rich legacy of engaging parents, schools, legislators, and community leaders in improving children’s health, safety, and educational success.
“This should prove to men across the country that their participation in PTA is valued, welcomed, and needed,” said Saylors. “Times are different from 30 years ago. Today, both parents work, and participation of all adults is needed now more than ever. In fact, research shows that when men are involved children are more likely to achieve success socially, intellectually and academically.” Saylors and Garrett will lead National PTA’s Board of Directors to continue long-term strategies and priorities that benefit families nationwide. They’ll continue to integrate PTA's core values with the association's strategic plan to speak for every child with one voice.
The announcement comes on the heels of a study released recently by the National PTA and the National Center for Fathering that reports fathers are more involved in their child’s education than they were 10 years ago. The report, (titled Survey of Father’s Involvement in Children’s Learning) shows double digit gains in the percentage of dads who are taking their child to school, visiting their classroom and attending school events.
Dads have been making a difference in children’s lives and education for a long time. From parent-teacher conferences, to tutoring kids after school, father involvement in schools and in PTA continues to increase.
Saylors will join a long list of notable men that have called attention to the importance of PTA, including U.S. presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton; California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; television personality and child advocate Fred Rogers of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood; actor Bill Cosby; basketball player Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jr.; and race car driver Carl Edwards.
**SAYLORS WILL BE INSTALLED ON SUNDAY, JUNE 28 AT APPROXIMATELY 4:30 PM**

Shortsighted Budget Jeopardizes State's Future

PTA President Urges Balance and Investment in Children

SACRAMENTO - California State PTA President Jo Loss issued the following response to news of the pending budget agreement. "California State PTA and our nearly 1 million members have serious concerns with the long-lasting negative impact this budget will have on children and families in California. "We recognize the state is facing an unprecedented fiscal crisis, but we are angered that our legislative leaders are choosing to solve the budget primarily with cuts to critical services, rather than identifying sufficient sources of new, ongoing revenue to provide a more balanced approach. "Legislators and the Governor should not continue to try to balance the budget on the backs of our children and families. Our message remains constant: We must invest in children to ensure our future economic prosperity. "The proposed budget cuts $6 billion more from K-12 schools and community colleges. This is in addition to more than $11 billion in cuts our schools and students have suffered over the past year. California's education system ranks nearly last in the nation in terms of per-student funding, with some of the largest class sizes and the highest number of students per counselor, school nurse or other critical support staff members. Our schools are unable to withstand cuts of this magnitude and continue to provide the quality education that our students need and deserve. "The budget agreement does include a commitment to restore money lost during this budget crisis - and this is a positive step. However, it is the responsibility of our state legislators to fund public education at all timesat a level where all children are able to learn. This budget fails that test. School districts will be forced to make additional cuts to critical programs. Class sizes will significantly increase, reducing the ability of our teachers to meet the individual needs of each student. Academic support classes, reading specialists, counselors, librarians and school nurses will be lost. We will see fewer arts and music classes. Our ability to provide students with up-to-date technological resources and hands-on science programs to prepare them for the global economy will continue to be jeopardized. "In addition, the $226 million cuts to the Healthy Families Program places the health and well-being of our state's neediest children and families in further jeopardy. The $528 million cut in the CalWORKs program similarly hurts these families. "A budget should reflect the values of our citizens. Californians have consistently supported public education and children in prosperous and unstable economic times. So we must ask, Where are California's priorities when the basic education and health needs of our children are not being adequately met?"