California Budget Battle Presages Education Debate

With a seven-week stalemate over the current California budget barely behind them, members of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s staff—as well as those in the state’s education community—already are turning their attention to the fiscal 2009 budget the governor will present next year.

Secretary of Education David Long, the governor’s chief education adviser, soon will begin a series of eight hearings throughout the state to gather input for what the Republican governor has said will be “the year of education reform.”

How to narrow the achievement gaps between students of different backgrounds—and to address issues raised earlier this year in a massive research report on school finance and governance—will be among the topics discussed. ( "California’s Schooling Is ‘Broken’," ...