"Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger offered an olive branch to educators Tuesday with a proposal to begin repaying money the state borrowed from schools in recent years to balance the budget", report Evan Halper and Duke Helfand for the Times.
"The plan to give schools about $1.7 billion extra — paid for with unanticipated state revenue — will be part of the budget Schwarzenegger proposes next week. It signals an effort to patch up his shredded relationship with the state's major education groups as he seeks reelection in November."
It also buys a lot of olive trees.
"'We have the money this year to give it to the education community,' the governor told reporters after administration officials announced the proposal. 'They deserve it.'"
Also included in the education funding increase is the
first year of funding for Proposition 49, which the governor championed in 2002 in his first foray into statewide politics, reports the AP's Tom Chorneau. "The initiative provides grants to elementary and middle schools for after-school opportunities, with low-income schools getting priority."
Clea Benson picks up the
education community's response for the Bee. "'It's a start,' said
Barbara Kerr, president of the California Teachers Association."
"'It's better than where we were last year at this time.'"
"'There's potential the administration is serious about getting back on track on education,' [education consultant
Kevin] Gordon said."
"'
It's going to be a long budget dance,' said Superintendent of Public Instruction
Jack O'Connell, a Democrat. 'If this amount does not increase above the initial budget, it will again shortchange our students.'"
The governor also
showed a little leg on his bond proposal, which will likely be rolled out later this week, or at least mentioned prominently in the State of the State address. Schwarzenegger said yesterday that his proposal would include money for school construction and modernization.
"Our bond that we propose will have money for building more schools, thousands of more schools, some
40,000 more classrooms and modernizing 140,000 other classrooms and so on. And so we really want to move aggressively forward to really make sure that we do everything we can for education," he said speaking at a levee in Sutter County.
Dan Walters believes the governor's proposal will buy some time, but the
ongoing conflict between education funding and tax revenues will continue. "So far, however, there's no indication that school advocates will declare another holy war. Schwarzenegger has been politically weakened by voters' rejection of his ballot measures and, the school advocates imply, they're more likely to prevail in Sacramento's perennial battle over money by continuing to prod him gently."
"'We actually won the election, but I took no joy in seeing the governor humiliated,'
Scott Plotkin, who runs the California Schools Boards Association, said after meeting with the governor. '
Let's start anew. We're not looking for another fight.'"
The Chron's Carla Marinucci
previews tomorrow's state of the state address. "'It will be a blueprint for where he's going, both the direction he wants to take the state and where the campaign will end up,' predicts
Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist and crisis communications expert. 'But for this pivot point to be effective over the long-run, the governor
needs to put out a 'back-to-the-future' blueprint that will signify he is going back to being the Arnold of 2004 --
a non-partisan, reformer who is going to put the public before politics.'"
With minimum wage hikes, more education spending, a big infrastructure bond and more expected in the speech, the address will be a complete 180 from last year's declaration of war on Democrats and their allies. But, the governor says, it's not a change in policy.
"I think it's important to say that
anyone who says that I am changing positions are totally wrong. I have always made it clear that when I took over the state as Governor we were in a disastrous situation economically, and we didn't have enough money in our treasury, there was not enough monies coming in, therefore, we had to be tight and we had to rebuild our economy. So I said as long as our economy does not bounce back, we will not be able to raise the minimum wage."
General fund revenues are expected to soar by as much as $12 billion over the current fiscal year.
Meanwhile,
the governor's campaign team is beginning to take shape. Marinucci also reports that "[t]he governor's office would not confirm the hiring on Tuesday, but sources said
Steve Schmidt 35, is
expected to be announced shortly as Schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election campaign manager. Schmidt, a deputy assistant to
President Bush and counselor to Vice President
Dick Cheney who is responsible for Cheney's press relations and communications, will not join the governor's campaign until February, the sources said.'"
"That's because Schmidt is currently the White House point man in charge of strategic communications for the Supreme Court nomination of Judge
Samuel Alito, whose hearings are scheduled to begin Monday."
We're sure
Bob Mulholland will share his thoughts on the selection soon.
Jim Sanders reports for the Bee that "[b]ackers of the failed Proposition 77 redistricting measure will announce a new proposal today to
change how California draws legislative, congressional and Board of Equalization boundaries."
"The new initiative would take responsibility for drawing boundaries out of the hands of the Legislature and give it to a citizens commission, beginning in 2011."
"Spearheading the campaign are People's Advocate, Mobilizing America's Youth, California Public Interest Research Group, Committee for an Independent Voice, Mexican American Political Association and TheRestofUs.org, a political watchdog group."
"
Steve Maviglio, Núñez's spokesman, said the speaker thinks the 'current system is indefensible' but that another initiative might not be the best way to solve the problem."
"'
I think people are sick of initiatives, they want to see (the Legislature) get it done,' Maviglio said. 'We're going to step up to the plate and put forward a solid proposal.'"
We'll hold our breath.
Both Nuñez and Perata will be laying out their priorities for reporters today as the Legislature reconvenes. Both will also lay out their plans for the new year in upcoming editorials in
Capitol Weekly Thursday morning.
OK, we admit it, we didn't read the entire story. But the LA Times gets the award for best Web teaser on a story today, about a cancelled Flaming Lips concert. "One man says he is
devastated because he didn't get to propose to his girlfriend during a performance -- wearing a squirrel costume."
Take it as a sign, my friend.
