How about a university tax?

It's hard to escape the television pictures of young students protesting increasing fees in California's universities. The rise in fees will bring hardship to many students and their families, but they are not the only ones who are damaged. The state will suffer from not having as many graduates trained to enter California's businesses and to develop new ones. As Thomas Elias points out, it was graduates of California's state schools who populated the early Silicon Valley industries that brought wealth and prosperity to many. They are the ones who will bring us back from this recession by being available to staff the new businesses that will lead us out of this recession. As Mr. Elias says, Californians have been willing to pay taxes to support K to 12 education, but have never been asked about a tax specifically aimed at keeping a strong post-secondary educational system going. California's public education was a model for the country and the world. It is in everyone's interest to keep it strong because the strength and prosperity of our state depends on it.

How good are the tests?

San Francisco schools have come up with a mixed message about how well they are doing. According to state standards schools are improving, but by federal standards of No Child Left Behind, our schools are not doing so well. It's difficult enough under any circumstances for parents and the public to understand how good the schools are, but having two different standards of measurement makes the task almost impossible. We are reduced to recounting anecdotes we heard at the supermarket and poring over newspaper comments from people who don't know any more than we do. But gossip isn't going to get us far with improving the school system. It's time for the state to come up with a coordinated set of standards that will enable civic minded people to understand where our schools stand. Then we can push for the reforms needed to make them better.

A job well done

Now that the Bay Bridge has opened again, attention has turned away from it and Northern Californians will find something else to complain about. But let's not forget that we are the beneficiaries of an excellent engineering job. Read all about it in today's S.F. Chronicle. It's easy for us to forget that in many places in the world today citizens would be worrying about sloppy repair work on public projects and corruption in the companies that we rely on for our basic urban needs. There are a lot of people to thank for the quick repair of one of our vital transit links, primarily of course the men and women who worked on the job and got it done so effectively. But their good work depends on having well-trained workers who came through our school systems. We are not producing enough engineers and scientists in this country, but an event like this makes us realize how much we depend on them for our everyday needs. As the new school year begins, let's give a cheer for the teachers from kindergarten on up who inspire our children to become the people we'll depend on to keep our society going. And who teach about the importance of acting for the good of the whole community. And when election day comes, let's remember how vital our schools are and support them as they deserve.

A winning team

The TV news shows these last few days have given a lot of time to a few cruel and vicious words spoken by radio host Don Imus referring to the Rutgers University Women's Basketball Team. Other media men (and all the ones I saw were all men) responded by discussing whether the words could be forgiven, whether suspension or firing was the appropriate punishment--unbelievably enough there were differences of opinion on that. It wasn't until the team members themselves appeared on the news that we heard a dignified and heartfelt response to the irresponsible attack. The women spoke quietly and told of their feelings--putting to shame all the trivial media chatter. These young women, and others like them, are the future leaders of the country. We in the League try our best to get them involved in the public arena where they will be empowered to create a world where no one listens to silly old men who think causing pain to others can be funny.

Where Can Families Live?

Talk to any young parent in San Francisco for more than ten minutes and the issue of housing is bound to come up. The San Francisco schools lose 800 students a year, many of them because the families move to the suburbs to find less expensive places to live. The Chronicle's Tim Holt in Sunday's Insight section describes several proposals for increasing housing density along transit lines in the city. Neighborhood groups near Octavia and Market have the most far-reaching plan so far. The League and other community groups will be keeping on eye on efforts to make San Francisco more family-friendly. Watch for future developments...

New Education Report

League members put a high priority on supporting excellence in public education, but the last few years have been discouraging ones. A new study reported in the Chronicle on March 15, reveals a "deeply flawed" system. Part 1 of the study is available at http://irepp.stanford.edu/projects/cafinance.htm Governor Schwarzenegger has promised to make the next year one of educational reform, so it looks as though the League will have its work cut out for it. This won't be the first time the League has been in the forefront of educational reform. The invaluable website EdSource http://www.edsource.org was founded in 1977 by the League in cooperation with the Parent Teachers Association California and the American Association of University Women California chapter. For thirty years it has been a primary source of nonpartisan, objective information about education issues. Parents, teachers and policy makers have turned to it over the years for guidance in providing the best possible education for all of California's children.