Governor Schwarzenegger's Remarks on the Committee on Education Excellence Report

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER: Thank you very much, Lowell, for the nice introduction. And I want to thank you and I want to thank Michael also, for having us here at the Milken Institute. Thank you very much for opening up your facilities for this important announcement.

Everyone in this room knows that education and other state programs are going to face severe cuts this year because of our slowing economy and because of our budget that is out of whack. In a minute I'm going to talk a little bit about the budget and why our budget changes are the best protection, really, for future cuts, but I will get into that later on.

But like I said in my State of the State speech, it is also important that we don't lose sight of the big picture of our education system. That is why I am excited to be here today at the Milken Family Foundation to release the report recently completed by the Governor's Committee on Education Excellence. As the Milken Foundation knows very well, its founding president, Dr. Lewis Solmon, who passed away in December, was a member of the committee, was an outstanding member of the committee and the report if appropriately dedicated to his memory. He was a great visionary and an extraordinary leader. So, we are happy to have also Vicki with us here today; thank you.

Now, if you recall, I asked 18 of California's top minds in the education field to examine our education system, see what we are doing right and what we're doing wrong and to make recommendations for the future. And the report provides an outstanding blueprint on how to make big, bold improvements to our education system.

Now, some of this will cost, of course, a lot of money and some of it will not and some of the recommendations will actually be cost savers for our system. That is why we have to look at each and every one of those recommendations to see which ones we can implement right now and which ones have to wait because of the budget crisis that we are in.

We're taking other actions too. I'm very happy that yesterday the State Board of Education passed our plan to lift 97 of the poor-performing and struggling school districts, because we have to do everything in our power to make education equal for all children. California has 45 million dollars available under the No Child Left Behind Act in order to support those improvements, so it does not come out of our budget and will have no affect on our budget.

Because we know that this report and others, that our schools need help very badly. Less than 25 percent of our students are mastering reading, math, or English, or any of the other subjects. In the worst performing high schools less than half of the incoming freshmen will go on to earn a diploma. That is a tragedy for our children and that is a tragedy for our state. We need a system that works for everyone, that shows real results, that turns around our failing schools, increases the test scores and lowers the dropout rate.

The Committee's recommendations are a great start. They shine a spotlight on important issues like streamlining bureaucracy and the need for more local control, changing how we recruit and prepare our teachers, having clear governance and real transparency, so there is accountability from the top to the bottom and how we must establish an accurate, comprehensive and easy to use data system. That way we can share successful ideas, build on our strengths and overcome our weaknesses.

So, I have directed Secretary Long to work with the committee members, to hold meetings and town halls up and down the state and to build consensus for reform and to bring everyone, all the stakeholders, together.

Now, I realize that providing a first-rate education system means having adequate resources. The report recommends additional funding spread over the next 10 years and when our budget picture brightens, it is surely something that we can suggest and that we can look into. But I also agree that more money must be tied to real, tangible reforms, that more money without reform would be a total waste.

Since I started this speech here today with talking about the budget, let me be clear about that. If we don't fix our broken budget system once and for all, the dreams that we have about our schools will stay exactly that -- dreams. Today, with our formula-driven feast or famine budget cycle, we spend every dime that we get in, in good years. And then, when our economy flattens, or our revenues flatten, we have to make deep cuts. For the past few weeks school districts have been sending pink slips to teachers because they have to plan for the worst case scenario in the coming year. But we would not have to put the schools or the teachers, or the entire education system through this agony, through the uncertainties and on this roller coaster ride where everyone has to hold on for dear life, if we reform the state budget system once and for all.

My proposed budget reforms will require Sacramento to put money into a rainy day fund if the economy is doing well and then we can draw from that account if the economy is not doing so well, like right now. All of this anxiety and all of the uncertainties could be a thing of the past. We could terminate it if our budget system were more dependable, predictable and stable.

I need the people's help and I need the legislators' help. Now, I will be going up and down the state to talk about this very important subject -- budget reform, budget reform, budget reform. To have healthy schools you need a healthy budget, you can't have one without the other. So let's get the people to join this effort. Let's demand that we fix our schools, that we fix our budget system, so that our children have a future that they deserve.

Thank you very much. And now I would like to bring up -- who is coming out next? Ed. Please, come on up here. Ted Mitchell, please. (Applause)

TED MITCHELL: On behalf of the committee, Governor, thank you for your vision in establishing this group nearly three years ago to explore the fundamental problems facing California's education system, problems that are preventing us from achieving the kind of excellence that we as a state need, that you've always aspired to on our behalf and that our children demand. Your vision for the future of this state and your encouragement of our work, no matter where it took us, has been an inspiration.

I want to thank Mike and Lowell for having us here today. Thank you all for being here. I'd also like to thank those foundations who have supported the independent, bipartisan effort of the committee; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, the Stuart Foundation, the Broad Foundation, the Fisher Fund and the Packard Foundation. We've not been without help in this work.

Most importantly, though, I want to thank the members of the committee for their remarkable dedication to this work. We represent a diverse group of individuals from across the political spectrum and we've reached a strong consensus on the types of reforms that are needed for California's schools and to renew hope for our children. I've never had the privilege in my professional life of working with as talented or passionate a team. And a huge part of that passion and that talent was Lew Solmon, our colleague who we honor today through the dedication of our report to his wisdom, his friendship, his mentorship of all of us and his wonderful sense of humor. Vicki, we're so glad that you could be here today.

We began our work with an extensive review of research which told us that the current system can't meet our students' needs because it's fundamentally flawed. It's compliance driven, not results driven. It's bogged down by red tape and inefficiencies. It's extraordinarily difficult to understand, even for professionals, to the point that our system actually impedes educators' best work.

Instead of that system, we need a system that focuses on continuous improvement and student achievement, that's characterized by accountability, flexibility and transparency, that's informed, as the Governor said, by great data and information systems, that rewards successes and does not tolerate failure. Though California faces a budget crisis in 2008, we mustn't postpone education reform until the situation improves. Budget problems do not free us of the responsibility to provide better schools and a better education to our children. When the budget improves and when new money is available, we cannot simply channel those resources into the same old system. To build the system for tomorrow, we must start laying the foundations today and that begins by opening a dialogue today about what our education system must look like tomorrow.

We hope the report provides a point of departure for that discussion and I look forward to working with my colleague Dave Long as we go around the state to gather input from stakeholder groups and citizens about this critical issue facing the future of the state.

Now, a number of our proposals can be implemented immediately, or soon, at little or no cost. If we can agree on a necessary set of changes now, we'll be prepared to move aggressively when more resources become available. Let's be clear; our recommendations, as the Governor said, will cost us more money. But the changes we contemplate wouldn't be implemented in one year or two, but over a period of a decade. And moreover, the changes we recommend will help educators get more out of existing education dollars.

We have to start by expanding and updating our data systems to provide accurate information for proper education evaluation to inform instruction, to support the students' progress and to allow policy makers, decision makers and parents to promote the best education policies and practices. We also recommend making teaching and education leadership a true profession with advancement opportunities, on-the-job mentoring, professional standards, evaluations based on student achievement, on professional assessment and on additional responsibilities that teachers take in the classroom and in the school. This leads to a program of professional compensation, evaluation and development much like the TAP Program developed here.

Education funding must support our education goals for all students. Statewide, as we know, students have different needs that require, we believe, different levels of funding. We recommend changes in the funding formula so that funding is based on the needs of children and that funding follows students who generate the funds, that finance information about how schools spend their money is transparent and understandable to the public and that funding is made as stable as possible, as it would be in the Governor's budget reform proposal.

We believe that our recommendations, as they are implemented, will empower parents to help improve the learning quality and give them real choices when it comes to their children's education. It's been a privilege to work on this project, but I know, Secretary Long, that our work is really only beginning and I look forward to talking with more of you across the state as the work continues.

I'd like now to introduce the Vice-Chair of the committee, former Senator Dede Alpert, who has, as you know, been a leader in California education reform throughout her entire career, but significantly during her career in the Senate where she led us to a new master plan for California's education system. My colleague and friend, Dede Alpert. (Applause)

SENATOR ALPERT: Thank you, Ted. And let me add my thanks to Governor Schwarzenegger, because the work that we need to do in education can't be done piecemeal. It really does require a long-term vision and Governor Schwarzenegger has been kind enough to take the lead in that.

I'm going to talk about a few of the other recommendations in our report and some of the things we found as we began to work on this. Currently in California we have a completely convoluted governance system that puts everybody in charge and nobody in charge. Therefore everybody can just point fingers when they talk about who is responsible for what's happening. It helps to create a culture of compliance rather than one of continuous improvement.

Our recommendations call for improving efficiencies within the system, as well as more local decision making, authority and control of resources, which will better utilize existing funds. We know that the teachers are the ones who are closest to the students and they know what works with each individual student. These efficiencies can begin today regardless of the budget situation.

We call for local schools and school districts to be given greater autonomy with more flexibility to promote innovation so that we can learn what work best. And we also call for more training of those very people so that they are able to fulfill those roles. A students first philosophy means that schools should be equipped with highly qualified teachers and administrators who have the resources they need to help our children excel. Our recommendations target roles and funds to create that environment. And I think it's very, very important and I want to say again, this is a student-centered system. It's about the kids, not about the adults.

Success really starts before a child ever reaches the school door. High quality preschool and full-day kindergarten should be high priorities for change. You know, we see that, for many of our poorest children in California, when they start kindergarten they may already be two years behind. We need to provide that high quality preschool experience for them.

Implementing these major recommendations is going to require courage. Our goal is to reduce the achievement gap and create a cycle of ongoing improvement. To do this we're going to need a systemic overhaul; minor fixes are not going to be sufficient. California is ready for changes of this magnitude for its education system. Our Governor has demonstrated strong leadership on issues across-the-board. We have a legislature that is committed to improving our schools and we have some of the country's best standards, educators and students. At the same time, we understand that the state of California is facing a budget deficit, which creates additional challenges for providing immediate funding for necessary reforms. This is one of the times when I really don't miss being in the legislature.

But these recommendations are for systemic changes that would happen over a period of years. We can't wait to begin to talk about these ideas and implement what we can until times are better, because this is a multi-year project. A number of our proposals can be implemented immediately at little or no cost, so we can begin to make progress today in every area of our recommendations. While we can't fix the system overnight -- it wasn't broken overnight, it took years to get us into this spot -- we can begin to lay the groundwork for change by agreeing on a framework for both funding and reform over a multi-year period.

With the public and our leaders working to create a new system based on high standards, in which our schools improve continuously -- I want to stress that too, because you know, I think all the time we keep hearing about education reform, or the reform of the day, we need to talk about continuous improvement in education. That really is what our goal should be. With that, I believe we can renew hope for all of California's students. Thank you. (Applause)

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER: If there are any questions? I just want to quickly say again thank you very much also to Ted Mitchell, who did such an extraordinary job with this report. And Dede Alpert, I want to thank you so much also and our Secretary, David Long, I want to thank you. There were so many people on this team that really did extraordinary work for two years. And some of the people in the education community called me and they said, "God, this team is like a bunch of Alabama ticks." And I said, "That's exactly what they ought to be; to dig in there and to really find out once and for all what's needed in order to improve education." And so I just want to say thank you all for the great, great work.

Any questions? And I know the first question will be, what about the budget? Okay, go ahead.

QUESTIONS/ANSWERS:

QUESTION:                                                   What about the budget?

GOVERNOR:                                               Thank you. I knew you were going to say that; I always can count on it. It is unfortunate that this report comes out and has so many great recommendations to reform the system and to be more cost effective, but also at the same time recommend that there ought to be increases in funding and that this report comes out at a time when we have a financial disaster here in California.

And the financial problem, the crisis that we have in government is because of our failed budget system. The slowing of the economy has something to do with it, but the slowing of the economy really has only created 4.6 billion dollars lower revenues than we anticipated, but we are out of whack by 16 billion dollars. So it's the system itself, as I have said earlier. We continuously, when we have a surge in revenues, we take all of that money -- as Dede knows, when she was there -- they take all of that money and they spend it. And so when we have a situation like this year, where we have flat revenues, where there's only a 1 percent increase rather than the 6 percent increase that we anticipated, we all of a sudden have to make deep cuts, not only in education but in all programs, 10 percent across-the-board.

And so this is why I say that while we are talking about education reform, we cannot reform education 100 percent. We can reform some of the things, but not 100 percent, if we don't reform our budget system. You cannot have a great education system without having a great budget system.

QUESTION:                                                  Governor, you talk about planning for a rainy day both in your budget reform and in the school reform. But the rainy day is here now. Superintendent O'Connell is talking about 20,000 layoffs cancelling summer school. Why should today's kids pay the price for the lack of planning that took place, perhaps even before your administration came in?

GOVERNOR:                                               They shouldn't. They should not. That's why I said it is inexcusable that our system is sending teachers and kids and parents on a roller coaster ride where they have to hold on for dear life, only because Sacramento cannot get its act together and put the rainy day fund aside for times like right now where the economy is flat and the economy has not performed as well as we anticipated.

And so everyone has to pay for it, rather than what I am recommending in my budget proposal, when you talk about rainy day funds is that when we have a surge in revenues and you see a spike of 13 billion dollars in one year, let's not spend this whole 13 billion dollars. Let us just spend maybe 5 billion dollars, a 5 percent increase in spending, rather than all the money and put the rest of the money in a rainy day fund.

If we would have done that, we would have now billions and billions of dollars set aside in the rainy day fund and we could now use that money to supplement our shortcome of income. That is what you have to do. That's what you do as a family, that's what you do as a business.

Now we have 96 billion dollars. That's all we have. So therefore, I cannot promise the schools full funding, I cannot promise health care full funding, I cannot promise the prisons full funding, because that would take 111 billion dollars. We don't have it. We have 96 billion dollars, that's all we have, so therefore that's all I can promise.

QUESTION:                                                   But Governor, with all due respect, there are -- you know, your constituents voted you into office many moons ago because they realized that there was a problem with education. And you also said you have a business background and you've hired these folks here to come up with a plan. So it is the Governor's Committee on Education Excellence and I understand long-haul you need a systematic change. But has this committee made any recommendations for what to do right now? Because many people will be losing their livelihoods.

GOVERNOR:                                               Well, first of all, let me just say that the committee made great recommendations and I think that's what they announced already. There are 97 schools that are the failing schools and that have the most problems, the districts in this state that have not met the level of the No Child Left Behind Act, so we are using 45 million dollars, which is federal money, that we're using to help those schools, which does not affect the state budget. But we don't have more money this year, so someone -- and this is why I've recommended the legislators to come to my office and start negotiating those things as early as possible.

Now, we would not be in this situation if the legislators had approved my budget recommendations and my budget reform proposal when I came into office, which was in December of 2003. It was voted down because they did not want that kind of a system where they cannot spend all the money. So then I went back to the people in 2005 and the people have voted it down, because there was a lot of money spent against it. So, you know, I tried twice now; I'm trying the third time to reform the system.

And everyone knows that unless we reform the system we will go up and down on this roller coaster ride and there will be uncertainly all the time. And it's not just in this administration and it was not just under the Davis administration. When you talk to Governor Wilson, he had this problem. When you talk to Deukmejian, he had that problem. When you talk to Jerry Brown, he had that problem. So everyone has the problem, so clearly there's a systemic problem that we have and we've got to fix it.

I think -- this is, again, the optimistic Arnold talking -- I think that this year we have a good shot to fix this system once and for all, because everyone recognizes that this is unfair to our children and it's unfair to our teachers and to the parents to send them on this roller coaster ride. Please.

QUESTION:                                                  Governor, you stated, in regards to home schooling you stated that you were against the court's ruling that teacher-parents should be credentialed by the state to teach their children. Do you have any idea -- are there any regulations, do you think, that need to be put in place for parents who want to home school their children?

GOVERNOR:                                               I always say don't fix what is not broken. I think home schooling is doing well. I think we know that people, the kids that are being schooled at home are doing sometimes much better than those that are going to schools. So why are we going in there all of a sudden and talking about let's fix it? Fix what? We have to fix our public education system, that needs fixing. But let's not go after the home schooling. They're doing a good job. So I think that it is a mistake to go and start working on that.

I think we should work and pay all of our attention to our public education system and to do the kinds of things that this committee has recommended. And I'm looking forward to it, because there are some terrific ideas in there, especially the idea of making information available to the people and to all kinds of people, if it is to educators, educational leaders, political leaders, but also to the families.

So they can go on an easy to use website and get all the information of the performance of the students, what is the dropout rate of a school, what is the success rate, how many students, what's the percentage of graduation in this school, how many students do they send on to higher education or to career-tech education? What is the success rate there? Do they have after school programs, before school programs? Do they have arts, music, physical education? What's their financial situation, like their financial statement? Let's see how they spend the money. How much money goes into the classroom?

All of this information ought to be available. We don't have that. Some of those things are not linked together and it makes it impossible sometimes to search for it. So what this committee says is, we've got to put together all of this information, because then the schools will become competitive, so then you will have choice. You will say that his school is performing much better than this school; I'm going to take my child out of this school and send her to this school. You will see this school now expanding and this school losing students. So you will see, they will straighten out their act and get a new principal very quickly.

So those are the kind of things that we need to do and there are many other ideas that they have recommended. And like I said, some of that will take money and we are looking at that very seriously, because I believe that it needs more money, the education system. But as I said, we need to straighten out our budget first. Okay?

So thank you very much. Thank you.