California schools loses stance as national model

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:48:23 GMT

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=113985&sectionid=3510203

Schools in California, once a role model for the US school system, have lost their top place falling to near the bottom among the rest of the nation.

Some parents blame the current decline on the US politics.

"Politics is the reason why we're in the position that we're in today," says one of the parents who is concerned about the dire situation faced by the golden state's school system.

Oscar E. Cruz, the organizer of a group of families who seek to take power away from the politicians to give more responsibility to parents maintains that something should be done to avert the decline and protect the 6 million students who depend on the state for education.

He told Press TV's Ross Frasier that "We think that it is time for parents to really have the power and to really make the decisions for the children."

Despite spending an estimated 50 billion dollars annually on education, the group claims that a major portion of that money goes to special interest groups instead of to schools.

Cruz says, however, that a host of issues has forced California to the bottom.

"It ranges from funding, it ranges from being able to select...how do you identify good quality teachers? Those are questions that are important to address," he says.

Cruz says his group supports a new legislation that could help the school system by giving parents more control.

"Parents need to have those choices where they can truly make informed decisions on how they're going to improve education for their child."

If approved, the new law would also make California eligible for President Barack Obama's "race to the top" program.

The program uses the promise of more federal funds to encourage states to pass legislation aimed at reforming schools.

For California it would mean an additional 700 million dollars that is expected to help bring some long overdue changes.