Conditions of Education in California, 1990

Many of the major problems faced by California's education system originate outside the schoolhouse walls. Public schools are pinned inside an iron triangle of shifting demographics, declining economics, and intensifying poli­tics. The historic escape route of local decision initiatives and property taxation has been substantially narrowed by popu­list initiatives such as Proposition 13 and the Gann limit.

Examples of excellence and professional commitment persist in various local school districts and previously enacted state initiatives. Under current circumstances, however, it is unlikely that California can create and sustain a statewide education system capable of satisfying the intensified expec­tations of the twenty-first century. Too many components of a comprehensive reform plan remain unfulfilled.

Education improvement is becoming entangled and con­fused with political conflict over Proposition 98, which is primarily a revenue earmarking device and only secondarily a school reform plan. This troublesome situation begs for a responsible political solution every bit as much as another technical set of educational reform provisions.

This report contains a description and analysis of the interrelated set of problems and offers a comprehensive set of suggestions for overcoming this condition.