“Year of Education” languishes in California

The mood was buoyant just a few months ago as some of California’s best minds in education gathered to debate what school reforms to make in 2008, a year Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had anointed California’s “Year of Education.” Since then, much of the enthusiasm has fizzled as the state’s fiscal outlook has deteriorated.

Schwarzenegger will release his proposed budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year this week, providing the first detailed look at how he plans to close a deficit estimated at $14 billion over the next year-and-a-half.

Even before the deficit emerged, some education leaders were playing down expectations for the “Year of Education.” They cautioned that it would be impossible to overhaul a system that governs nearly 10,000 schools and 6.3 million students in just one year. Schwarzenegger told education advocates in November that his “Year of Education” is essentially off. Read more in The San Jose Mercury News online.