Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

When I attended public school in the 1960s and 1970s, California's educational system was ranked as one of the best in the nation. But since that time, California politicians have cut funding for public education to the point where California is now near the bottom in education funding per student. At the same time, California's once-world-class (and originally free for local students) community college system began instituting per-unit fees for the first time in the 1980s - and those fees have since risen steadily upward to the point where far fewer high school graduates can afford to enroll.

We must make education a priority once again. If more students complete high school, enroll in community college, and obtain degrees, the result will be a greater number of qualified candidates for skilled, technical, and professional jobs. This in turn will translate to higher productivity in the work force. Additionally, more educated individuals are much less likely to turn to criminal behavior, thus easing the burden on local law enforcement and the State prison system, and saving taxpayer dollars in the process.

We must re-commit to adequate per-student funding in California, and we must give teachers the respect that they deserve (and once received). We must keep class sizes manageable. But we also must find ways to spend education funds more wisely. More of the funding needs to stay in the classroom, rather than on increasing administration. But we can also make better use of classroom facilities by putting them to use more hours each day, through more flexible class schedules at the high school level. In so doing we could accommodate more students without having to build more classrooms. This would also allow teachers more flexibility in their work schedules, increasing teacher morale in the process.

I also want to encourage high school students to become more engaged in the political process, so that they are more likely to register to vote at 18 and to vote regularly in elections. Toward that end, I'd like to see local school districts and local cities work together to develop what I call "student city councils." These would be composed of high school students living within a city who would be elected by their peers to serve on an advisory body that would learn about city affairs and vote recommendations to the city council. The students would observe the sites of proposed infrastructure improvements (new traffic signals, park lighting and other improvements, structural repairs, etc.), construction projects, code enforcement issues, and other city issues, and provide comment and recommendations for possible actions to be taken by the city council. Giving students an active voice in local government not only provides a sense of empowerment to these youth, but also provides a learning experience that can't be found in the confines of the classroom.

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