Education - California's Future

By Jonathan Friedman

As our State Senator, Jonathan Friedman will demand accountability from local school boards. Today, only 59 cents of every dollar the state gives to Los Angeles Unified School District makes it to the classroom. Reducing bureaucracy will mean safer schools and a higher quality education. We owe our children nothing less.

The State of California spends vast quantities of money on education, as it should. It supports K-12 elementary schools, community colleges, the 23 campuses of the California State University system, and the 10 campuses of the University of California.

Funding that goes to our K-12 education is like a blank check, with control of specific spending plans controlled by locally elected school boards. While local control is a fine ideal, the results vary widely in practice. The results at LAUSD are particularly troubling: a huge dropout rate and unsafe campuses deny many students an adequate education. A staggeringly-low 59 cents of every dollar that the state gives to LAUSD makes it to the classroom, while massive funding for a huge bureaucracy siphons off the rest.

The California Legislature must fulfill its oversight functions and demand more accountability for local school funding. The administrative burden must be reduced, redirecting more money to the classroom, where it can have a direct, positive impact on the quality of our children's education. As your State Senator, I will ask the tough questions on local school expenditures and demand accountability for your dollars. I will work to plug this "leaky bucket" and ensure that we provide a quality education at our K-12 public schools.

At the University of California, the Office of the President, nicknamed the "11th campus," is an expenditure black hole. This office consumes hundreds of millions of dollars on administration + we have some of the best paid bureaucrats in the country. I would prefer to have the best paid professors. As a UCLA graduate, I promise to provide some tough love to UC administrators, making this system more efficient without increasing the cost to students.