Gov. Jerry Brown warns of California education crisis

04-25-2011

By Pete Carey/San Jose Mercury News

Gov. Jerry Brown told Silicon Valley business leaders Friday that a demoralized and turbulent California educational system could undermine the state's global competitiveness. Brown painted a grim picture of California's K-12 educational system, especially in poorer parts of the state, for 300 executives gathered in San Jose at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group's annual business climate summit. "We all want lower taxes, but if you look at our schools and our needs, we have a lot of low income people," he said. "How are we going to equip them to be part of the world economy?" Brown described visiting two schools, one in an affluent area that was doing well, and one in Stockton, that wasn't. "In this school, 21 teachers had just received their layoff notices. There were 19 layoffs the year before," he said. "You can't just blame the teachers, you can't blame the parents, you can't blame the kids." California spends about $7,000 per student, compared with $20,000 charged by private schools, the governor said. (more...)

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Gov. Jerry Brown warns of California education crisis

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