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Posted on May 22, 2009
Bay City News Wire

Education Secretary Urges Innovation
in SF Visit

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) --- U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Friday urged California officials to use the current economic crisis as an opportunity to reform the state's ailing public schools.

Duncan met with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and mayors from around the state in San Francisco to discuss the impact of the federal stimulus plan on California's schools.

Newsom said the meeting was "an opportunity to really begin a dialogue between mayors, city representatives and school boards and superintendents."

Duncan said he was worried about how the state's massive budget deficit would impact its public education system, which once led the nation but now ranks near the bottom in academic achievement.

"Honestly, I think California has lost its way, and I think the long-term consequences of that are very troubling," he told the assembly of mayors and school administrators.

Duncan encouraged education officials to compete for more than $10 billion in the $787 federal stimulus package set aside to spur innovation in education. He said that the Obama administration wants to invest in states, school districts and nonprofit groups that are "willing to challenge the status quo."

"This is a seminal moment in education. California can lead the country where we need to go, or California can retreat," Duncan said.

"To me, what's more important than your financial challenges is having the courage to do the right thing by children, is (having) the collective political will to challenge the status quo," he added.

The $787 stimulus package includes $100 billion for education, with more than $10 billion in grants for innovative programs that improve academic standards, set up data systems to track student performance, boost teacher effectiveness and support struggling schools.

"We want to drive the kind of change that will far outlast the dollars we've spent, the change that will change education in this country for the next couple decades," Duncan said.

California already is on track to receive about $8 billion in stimulus funding for education over the next two years, but that money could be jeopardized if the state fails to maintain funding levels for education.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed cutting $5.3 billion from the state's education budget to help close a looming $24 billion budget deficit. Those cuts are expected to lead to larger class sizes, cuts to sports and arts programs and thousands of teacher layoffs.

"We've been very, very clear about maintaining education funding and not dipping below a certain level," Duncan said. "We're going to watch that very closely."

Duncan is pushing an ambitious agenda that includes increasing the number of charter schools, expanding merit pay for teachers, closing failing schools and lengthening the school year.

He blasted the governor's proposal to shorten the 180-day school year by as much a 7.5 days as a "step in the wrong direction."

"I'm arguing vigorously that our school days, our school week and our school year is too short now," Duncan said. "So retreating there doesn't make sense."

Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin said during the discussion that the root cause of educational problems is poverty and economic inequality. [emphasis added]

However, Duncan pointed to schools in Chicago, where he was superintendent from 2001 to 2008, and said students were thriving in some of the country's toughest economic conditions.

"In certain situations, more money is not the answer (because) you get more of the same," he said. "We have to have the courage to start fresh."

He pointed to merit pay for teachers as an example of change that could help, because "if we act like every teacher's the same, I think we do a grave disservice to the profession."

Carlos Garcia, superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, asked if certain cities could be eligible for federal funding if "the state isn't carrying out their responsibilities."

Duncan responded by saying that "California will win, or California will lose, as a state," but said $650 million of the stimulus has been set aside for the "Invest in What Works and Innovation" fund for districts and nonprofits with a strong record of results.

Duncan ended the discussion by saying that he hoped states like California and the cities within it will continue to find ways to improve the education system.

"We're not going to begin to have all the answers in Washington," Duncan said. "When I was in Chicago, I didn't think Washington had all the answers, and now that I'm in Washington, I know we don't have all the answers."