Brown touts education accomplishments, priorities in upbeat State of the State

Gov. Jerry Brown highlighted his accomplishments in education during his State of the State address on Wednesday. Credit: Office of Gov. Jerry Dark-brown

Gov. Jerry Brown highlighted his education accomplishments in an upbeat State of the Country on Wednesday that marked the terminal address of his current term and laid out priorities for the coming year and his probable reelection entrada.

In remarks that were remarkably cursory, just 17 minutes long, before a joint session of the state Associates and Senate, Brown dedicated a portion of his voice communication to his educational priorities and accomplishments. He thanked voters for passing Proposition 30, the 2022 ballot mensurate that authorized temporary revenue enhancement increases to fund education, and he praised legislators for approving historic school finance reform by enacting the Local Control Funding Formula, which he called a "major breakthrough in the way funds are allocated to California's schools."

In addition to providing boosted funds to better learning for low-income students and English learners, the new funding formula as well puts into constabulary the principle of "subsidiarity," or local conclusion making, which is 1 of the governor's guiding philosophical tenets.

"Instead of prescriptive commands issued from headquarters here in Sacramento, more general goals have been established for each local schoolhouse to achieve, each in its own way," Chocolate-brown said. "This puts the responsibility where it has to be: in the classroom and at the local commune."

To underscore the goal of encouraging community participation in instruction, the governor cited last week'due south State Lath of Education meeting in Sacramento, where more than 300 people turned out to give their views on implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula.

"Now, that shows involvement and real commitment," Chocolate-brown said.

Dean Vogel, president of the California Teachers Clan, the state's largest teachers spousal relationship, lauded the governor for putting his organized religion in school communities, teachers and administrators. While acknowledging that the union hasn't always agreed with the governor, Vogel said Brown has been a good partner.

"The encouraging part is you've got a governor saying, 'Look, we can do this, let's piece of work together and solve the problem,' which is very different than what we've heard from other governors, which is more like, 'You've got a problem, fix information technology,'" Vogel said.

Country Superintendent of Public Educational activity Tom Torlakson attended the State of the State address and was pleased with the governor's focus on educational activity in the spoken language and in his upkeep proposal released two weeks agone.

"Information technology fabricated for a happy start to 2014," Torlakson said in an interview. He added that the governor has "kept his hope to go along educational activity as a pinnacle priority in the budget with the $10 billion for our Chiliad-12 schools and some money for higher education."

Reaction was more than muted among advocates of early childhood didactics, a subject that Brown didn't fifty-fifty mention in his speech.

"California stands in stark contrast to New York, where yesterday Gov. Andrew Cuomo joined the growing list of national leaders focusing much needed attending on investing in early learning," said a statement released by Raising California Together, a statewide coalition of several dozen organizations and unions advocating for increased access to child care. "Gov. Brownish is correct to say that didactics is a priority for California, but if nosotros want kids to succeed in grades Yard-12, we need to set them up for success from (infancy) to 5."

Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, a nonprofit that works to improve the health and well-being of California's children, agreed.

Lempert said he was "thrilled" that the governor focused so much of his remarks on education, peculiarly Common Core State Standards and the Local Control Funding Formula, and would have "loved to hear something about early learning and more on education and children'due south health."

But he wasn't surprised past the omission.

"Unfortunately not, because in the budget proposal he was pretty silent on anything for early learning," Lempert said. "We're apparently hoping that the governor changes grade on that with the May [upkeep] revise."

Brown'southward speech gave petty indication that he'south willing to make whatever significant additions to the budget. Instead, he was clear about the need to create a rainy-day fund that protects the state from the natural blueprint of economic ups and downs that California is just now recovering from.

"So we can't go dorsum to 'business concern as usual,'" Brown said. Then the former seminarian reached into the Bible to make his signal. "Boom and bosom is our lot and we must follow the aboriginal communication, recounted in the Book of Genesis, that Joseph gave to the Pharaoh: 'Put away your surplus during the years of bully plenty so you will be ready for the lean years which are sure to follow.'"

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Source: https://edsource.org/2014/brown-touts-education-accomplishments-priorities-in-upbeat-state-of-the-state/56555