Vicki E. Murray
Commentary
New Documentary Exposes Public Education’s Underbelly
“With spending as high as $483,000 per classroom…New Jersey students fare only slightly better than the national average in reading and math,” according to Bowdon, adding that less than half of Garden State students are ready for college. As the title suggests, “The Cartel” is a gloves-off exposé of what ...
Commentary
Florida proves what real education stimulus is
Orlando Sentinel (FL), June 1, 2009 Twenty-six years ago this May, the National Commission on Excellence in Education published A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. It warned that “the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our ...
Commentary
Options are the Best “Alternative” Education Policy for Parents
(This post was co-authored by Evelyn B. Stacey, Education Studies Policy Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute in Sacramento, California. Located about an hour north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa is a gateway city to California’s renowned Wine Country in the Sonoma and Napa Valleys. This “jewel of Northern California” ...
Commentary
Changing the way our schools are financed
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 10, 2009 California’s fiscal outlook continues to worsen. Concern is now mounting over the impact the state’s budget deficit will have on education funding. The California Teachers Association, along with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, claims California’s per-pupil funding now ranks 47th nationally. In ...
Commentary
Fuzzy funding for L.A. County schools make little sense
CALIFORNIA’S fiscal outlook continues to worsen. Concern is now mounting over the impact the state’s budget deficit will have on education funding. The California Teachers Association, along with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, claims California’s per-pupil funding now ranks 47th nationally. Most experts agree California is around the ...
Commentary
Court Rules Tax-Credit Scholarship Program Constitutional
On April 21, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a tax-credit scholarship program remains constitutional under the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling marks the latest failure by opponents of parental choice in education to halt the program and spells good news for California. Choice opponents ...
Commentary
New California School Finance Center Database Brings Transparency to Public Education Finance
With the state’s budget deficit worsening, concern grows over the impact on school funding and Californians seek a way to make informed decisions about education policies affecting millions of school children each year. The just-launched California School Finance Center online database brings much-needed transparency amidst the charges and countercharges. The ...
Education
Citizen’s Guide to California Public School Finance
In any given state, legislatures spend more on elementary and secondary education than any other major program, including healthcare, higher education, social services, and the criminal justice system. California is no exception. At $40 billion, K–12 education represents the largest share of the state general-fund budget. Yet few people comprehend ...
Commentary
How California Can Be a K-12 Leader Again
SACRAMENTO—Heavy hitters in education reform convened here Monday for mayor Kevin Johnson’s Education Summit. The event was a microcosm of changes afoot nationwide and packed a powerful message for California. The summit had three overarching goals: 1) offering real-world innovative reform ideas that increase school options for parents, improve accountability ...
Commentary
California Students Should be Free to Choose
Two years ago Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed January 29 Milton Friedman Day to honor the late Nobel laureate, his “intellectual hero,” whose Free to Choose book and documentary proved “life changing.” The governor and the legislature, unfortunately, have not allowed Milton Friedman’s ideas to change the lives of California parents ...
New Documentary Exposes Public Education’s Underbelly
“With spending as high as $483,000 per classroom…New Jersey students fare only slightly better than the national average in reading and math,” according to Bowdon, adding that less than half of Garden State students are ready for college. As the title suggests, “The Cartel” is a gloves-off exposé of what ...
Florida proves what real education stimulus is
Orlando Sentinel (FL), June 1, 2009 Twenty-six years ago this May, the National Commission on Excellence in Education published A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. It warned that “the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our ...
Options are the Best “Alternative” Education Policy for Parents
(This post was co-authored by Evelyn B. Stacey, Education Studies Policy Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute in Sacramento, California. Located about an hour north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa is a gateway city to California’s renowned Wine Country in the Sonoma and Napa Valleys. This “jewel of Northern California” ...
Changing the way our schools are financed
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 10, 2009 California’s fiscal outlook continues to worsen. Concern is now mounting over the impact the state’s budget deficit will have on education funding. The California Teachers Association, along with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, claims California’s per-pupil funding now ranks 47th nationally. In ...
Fuzzy funding for L.A. County schools make little sense
CALIFORNIA’S fiscal outlook continues to worsen. Concern is now mounting over the impact the state’s budget deficit will have on education funding. The California Teachers Association, along with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, claims California’s per-pupil funding now ranks 47th nationally. Most experts agree California is around the ...
Court Rules Tax-Credit Scholarship Program Constitutional
On April 21, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a tax-credit scholarship program remains constitutional under the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling marks the latest failure by opponents of parental choice in education to halt the program and spells good news for California. Choice opponents ...
New California School Finance Center Database Brings Transparency to Public Education Finance
With the state’s budget deficit worsening, concern grows over the impact on school funding and Californians seek a way to make informed decisions about education policies affecting millions of school children each year. The just-launched California School Finance Center online database brings much-needed transparency amidst the charges and countercharges. The ...
Citizen’s Guide to California Public School Finance
In any given state, legislatures spend more on elementary and secondary education than any other major program, including healthcare, higher education, social services, and the criminal justice system. California is no exception. At $40 billion, K–12 education represents the largest share of the state general-fund budget. Yet few people comprehend ...
How California Can Be a K-12 Leader Again
SACRAMENTO—Heavy hitters in education reform convened here Monday for mayor Kevin Johnson’s Education Summit. The event was a microcosm of changes afoot nationwide and packed a powerful message for California. The summit had three overarching goals: 1) offering real-world innovative reform ideas that increase school options for parents, improve accountability ...
California Students Should be Free to Choose
Two years ago Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed January 29 Milton Friedman Day to honor the late Nobel laureate, his “intellectual hero,” whose Free to Choose book and documentary proved “life changing.” The governor and the legislature, unfortunately, have not allowed Milton Friedman’s ideas to change the lives of California parents ...
