Wilson Proposes Statewide Choice Plan in Calif.

By Millicent Lawton

Hailing what he sees as California's bounce back from the brink of economic oblivion, an upbeat Gov. Pete Wilson proposed last week that the state pay for several new education programs, including a school-voucher plan.

He also proposed a pilot program of single-sex public schools as part of the state's existing magnet school program.

A revitalized economy has brightened the prospects of the nation's largest state--enough so that Mr. Wilson said the state can target new money to combat slipping student achievement while passing a tax cut to further stoke the recovery. The governor unveiled a budget for fiscal 1997 that would significantly increase K-12 education spending for the second straight year, up about $1.4 billion, or 8.5...