Tom Torlakson at the Ribbon Cutting of San Joaquin County’s largest educational solar project
“State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson appeared at a hearing Tuesday in the state Capitol. He acknowledged that California’s schools are in a fiscal emergency and that shrinking state resources are forcing school boards to make drastic cuts to curriculum and teachers,” according to Cal Watchdog.
So what does Torlakson propose to do about the public school funding crisis? He said that “the state needed to plan for spending $117 billion on school construction projects in the next decade.”
That’s right. Torlakson’s priority is school construction and fixing up existing schools. Never mind the fact “that the schools are failing the state’s children, and public high schools have become dropout factories.” Torlakson’s priority is building – and not just any construction. It turns out this is yet another green scheme by the Democrats.
“The overriding push behind all of this “investment” is SB 375 the 2008 law that’s the companion bill to AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. SB 375 was sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. It encourages the construction of high-rises and mass transit supposedly to help the environment.”
I am disgusted by Torlakson’s skewed priorities but not surprised. Consider the last bond measure passed in Santa Ana, “Measure G.” The first thing the SAUSD did after passing that bond was remodel the district headquarters. This is what passes for educational budget priorities in Santa Ana and in California.