Published: 1 years 150 days ago
Sacramento Bee: For years – even decades – the political equation on California public
education has been engraved in stone.
Democrats lined up with the California Teachers Association and other
elements of the education establishment to contend that spending more
money would be the pathway to improving test scores, dropout rates and
other indices of educational attainment.
Republicans, meanwhile, argued that merely spending more money
wouldn't improve outcomes and that public schools needed competition –
either more charter schools or vouchers for private schools – and a
crackdown on incompetent teachers.
Recently, however, the equation has been changing. The
Democratic-establishment coalition is breaking down as parents,
especially those in inner cities, demand more local control, more
school options and better outcomes.
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