The RAND Corp., a Santa Monica-based international think tank, recently released a report that details the deplorable condition of California’s public school system. The state lags behind in almost every objective in education — student achievement, class size, teacher salaries and teacher experience, to name a few. And now, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to cut $2.8 billion in education to balance the budget.
Despite how poorly school districts perform throughout the state, Santa Monica and Malibu fare pretty well. But that’s because the local community has supported the school district with hundreds of millions of dollars through bonds, parcel taxes, private donations and City Hall contributions.
So this week, Q Line wants to know, “Should it be left up to communities throughout California to fund their own school districts, or is it the state government’s responsibility?”
Call (310) 285-8106 before Friday at 5 p.m. and we’ll print your response in the weekend edition. Please try to limit your comments to a minute or less. It might help to think first about the wording of your response.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 17, 2005. Read the original PDF.