By Bob Schmidt, Capitol Morning Report
Senate President pro tem Darrell Steinberg told a Sacramento Press Club luncheon yesterday (April 27th) that putting a proposal on the ballot to extend soon-to-expire state taxes is "the least of our problems." What's important to Democrats right now, he said, is making a deal with Republicans to get money for schools, public safety and other necessary governmental functions.
Steinberg made those points during a Q&A session that followed his ten-minute opening speech that dealt primarily with the need for improvements in the public schools. But his questionners showed little interest in that and kept him talking mostly about the budget impasse.
He mentioned several earlier proposals from GOP senators but indicated neither support nor opposition to any. On one Republican concern, public employee pensions, he said Democrats agreed with Gov. Brown that they must be reformed.
Steinberg also said he would consider a suggestion from State Treasurer Bill Lockyer that Democrats make steeper budget cuts in Republican districts whose representatives refuse to support a tax extension vote.
"We must choose. There is no alternative. An all-cuts budget is abhorrent, so the only alternative is increased revenues," he said.
Despite the continuing budget stalemate, Steinberg said he believed an agreement would be reached before the constitutional deadline of June 15, and said "we will lock the doors if we have to" so legislators would be forced to stay in the chambers until agreement was reached and passed.
Concerning the public schools, Steinberg said he agreed with President Obama that job creation is the nation's most important imperative. But, he said, "our nation's debate about job creation is largely divorced from the other compelling national debate - the future of public education."
There is a focus on evaluating teachers, Steinberg said, but the more important question is "What are we asking our teachers to teach?"
He said there is insufficient attention being paid to providing students with the skills needed to perform the jobs being created by today's innovative economy.
"One hundred percent of a school's performance is judged on test scores (and) not a single measure of accountability relates to graduation rates or whether those who do graduate are prepared to succeed in college and a career."
Steinberg said a hundred thousand students drop out of high school in California every year. "The drop-out percentage for Latino students is 27 percent, for African American students 37 percent. That is unconscionable. It is time to change what is taught. It is time to change how it gets taught."
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