The Race for the State School Superintendent's office.

The two T's : TUCK and TORLAKSON . Either
one who wins election faces the same educational  bureaucracy
that made them.

The November election in California brings a number of issues . First who will be our Governor and who will succeed in the office  of (1) >  State School Superintendent . From my point of view  at a public school it means that we have to scrutinize  on who succeeds  . (2) >  Here too it's all about who spends the most , mostly at the hands of the super PAC's and the UNION dues .  ( SEE check out our campaign finance app here. )By law, donors are limited in how much they can directly contribute to candidates. Individuals are allowed to contribute up to $6,800 for a primary election and another $6,800 for a general election. All other donors, such as political action committees and businesses, are capped at $13,600 per primary election, and the same amount for a general election.  Right NOW Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson is in the fight of his life against upstart challenger and fellow Democrat Marshall Tuck.  Marshall Tuck means to "Overhaul" the system that he says is ignoring our children.  "If you're happy with California public schools, vote for the incumbent and vote for the status quo," Tuck said in an interview. "If you think our kids can do better and we need major change in our schools, vote for someone who's actually delivered that." Tuck's view is the obvious it is similar material  spouted by far right Republicans that California that wealthiest and most innovative state in the nation, and yet according to recent national test scores,  (6)> our students rank 45th Education is a serious matter, BUT  I am just asking my self , just what if any of these State School Superintendents have done ? Going back to (5)> Delaine Eastin in 1995 . Most of the individuals who have had this office stay in that position almost longer than the  State Governor . I am sure that they over the last decade the (3) > BIG STATE EDUCATION SUPS  have gotten already cozy over the years  with the bureaucratic establishment that has already become a tremendous burden on  California state revenues . Our Education system has been cited by critic's as a failure  *** ( That's not my view ) State spending in California exceeds the flow of revenues  , which  has been a constant battle with late budgets over the years between Governor's Davis and Schwarzenegger . The Current Gov. Brown has solved the problem with taxation to keep up with (4)> Prop 98 funding guarantees  which now have brought education spending overboard to nearly equal the State's own yearly budget . I  don't know how long that is going to be sustainable like the Federal Deficit , but Educators are more worried about the state test's yearly API rather than the costs and bankruptcy . School solvency issues are not solved  without raising property taxes and state taxes . The battle has drawn national attention, along with millions of dollars from traditionalist teachers unions on one side and from those who want to wholly overhaul the way schools are run on the other. The result could reverberate far beyond California. Tuck, who built much of his campaign around the case, has repeatedly criticized Torlakson for his position, decrying it as a political move to assuage the California Teachers Association, a powerful political force in Sacramento and the biggest financial backer of Torlakson’s campaign. EITHER case I am seeing a repeat of the same bull on who win's the office . If Tuck get's it he is mostly going to make changes that will put him line with some ideas of the Republicans on education reform, its a double edge sword providing that Kashkari Brown's opponent wins the Governorship of the state . The other alternative reality is that  Torlakson will win the race . This is why everything is so cozy , how it REALLY will  last mostly depends on the state's revenues coming to support the same bureaucracy .
 Missing Candidate : 
There is a third candidate that was not mentioned by is running for the same office , but since the media attention has been on the  two Democrats .veteran teacher Lydia Gutierrez, a Republican with unconventional views, has been unable to attract comparable funding. She supports current job protections for instructors, much like Torlakson. But unlike Torlakson and Tuck, she would undo state learning goals, called the Common Core, adopted by California and 43 other states. Read the dotted line did I say "Republican"?

NOTES AND COMMENTS: 

 (1) > The HISTORY of the Office of   California  Superintendents of Public Instruction believe it or not goes back to 1851 . (2)> With less than two weeks to go before Election Day, the race for California state superintendent of public instruction has been fueled by a combined $24 million in total campaign spending for incumbent Tom Torlakson and candidate Marshall Tuck. Outside groups not affiliated with either candidate represent the bulk of that spending – close to $19.4 million on ads and mailers on behalf of the candidates. Another committee, “Great Public Schools Los Angeles PAC” – largely formed to support Los Angeles school board candidate Alex Johnson ­– gave $117,450 to the Tuck committee. The Los Angeles PAC is financed by many of the same individuals funding the Tuck committee. ***  I BELIEVE TEACHERS WORK HARD , and deserve the resources that they need to fulfill their obligations to teach . Often the problems are not in the classroom  they mostly have been in the Administration office , which is  mostly through out the whole State of California's school Districts. The term   "top heavy" with more management positions, and less support staff , less teachers . Is now the norm .Cost wise  Twenty-one “Top-Heavy States” employ fewer teachers than other non-teaching personnel. Thus, those 21 states have more administrators and other non-teaching staff on the public payroll than teachers. Virginia “leads the way” with 60,737 more administrators and other non-teaching staff than teachers in its public schools.There are significant differences in total employment ratios across states. Vermont, Maine, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia each have fewer than six students per public school employee. That compares to more than 10 students per public school employee in Idaho, South Carolina, Arizona, California, Utah, and Nevada. (3)> With California’s public school system facing economic uncertainties – even with the passage of a tax increase under Proposition 30 – some of the most financially troubled districts have been elevating the payroll for top administrators, a review of district data shows.In the 2012-13 school year, a record 188 districts – with about 2.6 million students – have landed on a special California Department of Education list designed to sound the alarm on possible financial peril (see this report : http://californiawatch.org/k-12/despite-budget-woes-superintendents-pay-rises-18791 ) (4)> California education spending is almost 50 % of the state budget , it's the most expensive of any American state , any attempts to cut have been futile . It's costly , and it is one of the reasons California has one of the highest rates of taxation . The education department has an annual budget to oversee $70 billion a year  in education funding. Remember yearly state is  "budget" is 108 billion dollars a year ! (5)>  Delaine Eastin  might be "remembered" for stance pro- Gay agenda which she received much criticism and accusation of indoctrinating children as  State Superintendent .Much of it is found here : http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Kids-Not-Focus-of-Race-for-Schools-Chief-2982952.php  AND ALSO THIS OLD NOTE . http://www.tysknews.com/Depts/society/out.htm  (6)> The "rankings" have been a matter of debate . The Teacher's Union is justifiably against "rankings" of any kind , and in some cases unfair to some schools with struggling students .