Education reform - plus cash

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Opinion piece by Assemblyman Curt Hagman in San Bernardino County Sun

Education reform - plus cash

Assemblyman Curt Hagman

Posted: 12/26/2009

It's no secret that our public schools are struggling despite significant investment of tax dollars. Part of the reason is that bureaucrats and union bosses care more about protecting their power and imposing one-size-fits-all requirements on every school rather than promoting student excellence. Now we have a rare opportunity to change this failed status quo. The state Legislature is debating education reforms that can boost the quality of instruction in our schools. If lawmakers can step up to this challenge, we can make more efficient use of our existing education funds while attracting millions of federal stimulus dollars in the process.

This new momentum for reform comes from Race to the Top, a $4.35 billion federal grant program designed to help schools. What is unique about this initiative is that it will only award funds to states that meet high standards and put student achievement first. This is unlike the usual way that the U.S. Department of Education hands out money to our schools, which is through predetermined formulas. Because of California's size, we could gain up to $700 million in one-time funds to help our schools thrive. While the extra money is important, what makes Race to the Top especially vital to California is that it can push our struggling public schools to perform better with the resources we have.

Where we spend our schools' money may be more important than how much we spend. A recent study released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the liberal Center for American Progress states that Utah and North Carolina spend their education budgets more efficiently than California, even after accounting for socioeconomic factors. It's clear that raising taxes on hardworking families doesn't automatically translate to a better education for our students, despite what some want us to believe. That is why I am fighting to make it easier to distinguish effective teachers from those that need help by making them accountable for their students' performance.

Parents should be able to send their kids to the highest performing schools in their community. It's time California removes the artificial cap on the number of charter schools and gives them the extra flexibility to succeed. Since charters operate free from burdensome labor contracts that often protect union interests rather than students, they give parents a real alternative to select the school they believe will better serve the needs of their children. I also want to make it easier for students in our lowest-performing schools to transfer to another school if the parents desired. No student should be forced to stay in a low performing school because of their ZIP code.

Assemblyman Curt Hagman represents the 60th District, which includes Chino Hills