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California State Government June 6, 2006 Election
Smart Voter

How do this year's Education Bills and Initiatives effect the future of Education?

By Diane A. Lenning, Ed.M.

Candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction

This information is provided by the candidate
LENNING discusses how Education Bills, (AB606 "The Education Tsar Bill") and Initiatives (Prop. 82 "Reiner Preschool Initiative") can cause dramatic negative longterm effects upon education for which future generations will pay dearly. It is important to remember that Bills and Initiatives are attempts to circumvent the legislature and sometimes to misinform or fool the public; therefore, they require much greater scrutiny by each voter.
"NO" on Proposition 82:

  • Not good for our kids...
  • Not good for our economy...
  • Not good for existing preschools...
  • It's the Wrong Plan, Wrong Time.

Here's Why...

  • 82 Stifles creative learning for preschoolers
  • 82 Adds to already bloated bureaucracy
  • 82 Harms existing preschool programs
  • 82 Will only pay for 8% increase of at risk students
  • 82 Could take funds from K-12 Education
  • 82 Pays for existing preschool programs already paid

California needs to fix K-12 Education first! We do not need another layer of bureaucracy added to the already struggling system.

Proposition 82 Costs More than existing kindergarten programs, takes future needed teachers from K-12, and it targets high income earners who will use creative tax-planning that will Decrease state General Funds, thereby decreasing K-12 education funds.

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"NO" on AB 606 "The Education Tsar Bill"

  • NOT Good for our schools
  • NOT Good for parent, school, and community collaboration
  • NOT Good for local teachers and students
  • NOT Good for practicing Democracy with integrity

  • COULD cripple school districts, shut them down, and leave children alone.
  • COULD thwart goals of education by withholding funding for education.
  • COULD be used indiscriminately at one's whim, silencing community voices.
  • COULD take away rights of decision-making at local level.

Local Control of schools by residents in the area around neighborhood schools provides the most effective model for fair and equitable representation, collaboration with parents, and a hands-on approach to meeting the education needs of a community.

With the broad diversity among students in California today, a "heavy-handed" administrative approach is not necessarily the best approach in a diverse society. Neither is this style inherent in our country's founding documents.

Uniform Academic Standards are best met in various districts by a democratic collaborative administrative model that uses assessment of the needs, formulation of an action plan, and achieves success through an evaluation process that provides data, using statistics for the conclusions of needs met.

"Is it necessary or fair for the state superintendent to reach into the purview of a district superintendent and use heavy-handed measures to discipline local school board members or teachers for perceived grievances?"

Guidelines for good administrative practices include the concept that every member in the educational hierarchy is a stake-holder, and efforts to use a collaborative model and fair mediation methods are best to serve everyone involved.

"Is it a good idea that a state superintendent decide alone as to whether a district curriculum is correct, and if it is being taught according to his or her criteria?"

"Is it right that one person, the state superintendent, could have the right under state law to withhold up to 2/3 of a district's education funding if he or she decided a district was out of compliance?" This is what is offered as the guideline under AB606 "The Education Tsar Bill" 2006.

Withholding school funding could cripple school districts, shut them down, and force many children to be left at home without supervision. This bill would chill free speech in local school boards, deprive parents and community members of fair representation on the local level, and undermine the system of Democracy as formulated in the founding documents of our state and our Republic.

Rights under the Constitution inherently provide for the concept of participation in all aspects of society, especially areas concerning one's own family members in health, education, and welfare. Usurpation of rights of parents and local community members is a dangerous underlying thread in the formation of this bill.

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Campaign Contact Information

http://www.DianeLenning.com E-mail: diane@lenning.com Phone: 714-960-4455 Fax: 714-960-4455

Id: 1284627 Diane Lenning for CA Superintendent of Public Instruction Po Box 4306 Huntington Beach, CA 92605-4306

Copyright 2006, All Rights Reserved.

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