Walters: California's education leadership mishmash makes it hard to know who's accountable

"California's public school system, which purports to educate nearly 6 million students ranging from 4-year-olds in transitional kindergarten to near-adults preparing to graduate from high school, is in a world of hurt. Its students perform poorly in national tests of academic achievement, some local school districts flirt with insolvency as unions press for raises to offset spikes in living costs, politicians wrangle over money while issuing a steady stream of mandates and demands and on top of everything nobody knows who is accountable for outcomes."

"The lack of accountability stems from the construction in layer after layer of overlapping bits of authority that undermine cohesive governance. The governor, the state school board he or she appoints, an elected state schools superintendent, the Legislature, locally elected school boards and their superintendents, elected county school superintendents, elected county boards of education and the courts all have input."

"Finally, a prestigious collection of education experts is blowing the whistle. Policy Analysis for California Education, a consortium of education faculty at five major California universities, this week issued a detailed report on the lack of effective governance in education, how it evolved and how it might be improved. California's education governance system is a complex network of agencies and entities designed to serve the most diverse and expansive TK12 population in the United States, the PACE report declares."

California educates nearly six million TK–12 students, from four-year-olds in transitional kindergarten to near-adult high school seniors. Students perform poorly on national achievement tests while some local districts flirt with insolvency as unions press for raises to offset rising living costs. Politicians wrangle over funding while issuing mandates, increasing fiscal and operational strain. Accountability is obscured by layered, overlapping authorities including the governor, an appointed state school board, an elected state superintendent, the Legislature, local and county boards and superintendents, and the courts. Education faculty at five universities call attention to these governance failures and outline paths for improvement.

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