READER'S EDITORIAL: WHITMAN'S EDUCATION PLAN WILL LEAVE BEHIND AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE

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By Ian Magruder, California Young Democrats 
 
September 26, 2010 (Sacramento) - As the election grows nearer, college and high school students, as well as educators and parents fear the effects of Meg Whitman’s education plan. Whitman clearly doesn’t understand or care about the future of California’s education system.
 
The candidate has already spent $119 million dollars on her campaign or the equivalent of paying a year’s pay for over 2,000 teachers in the state--  teachers that she plans to cut if elected.
 
 Whitman Ad Shows That Whitman Can’t Balance the Budget or Fund College
 
In a recent television ad Meg Whitman vowed to give $1 billion to the University of California and California State University by making cuts to welfare. While this may sound appealing to a Conservative base, Whitman’s proposal demonstrates a clear lack of understanding. By restricting all adults on welfare to a lifetime limit of two years, only 22% of the state’s welfare recipients will be affected. Not only will these cuts come nowhere near the $1 billion that Whitman suggests, but they will disqualify the state from federal funding for welfare.
 
During the worst economy since the Great Depression cutting welfare, even for higher education, is cruel and heartless. A close look at Whitman’s plan to fully fund higher education reveals that she doesn’t understand how funding for services works in California or how to fact check. (http://www.sacbee.com/2010/09/05/3006706/ad-watch-whitman-misfires-on-college.html#mi_rss=State%20Politics)
 
 
Whitman Ignores the Truth about the California Department of Education
 
Meg Whitman has promised to cut 150 jobs in the California Department of Education (CDE) in a radio ad because they are “staffers working on programs it no longer administers.” This is part of her plan to reduce the budget deficit by eliminating 40,000 jobs and saving $3.3 billion. The 150 proposed jobs are based off of the Legislative Analyst’s Office’s (LAO) January recommendation.
 
Since the time the report was issued, the LAO has amended the number of cuts to the CDE to include internal cuts by the CDE and the Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell. The current suggestion is to eliminate 22 positions, a savings of $2.6 million. Meg Whitman has ignored the revisions to the LAO’s report and continues to insist that 150 jobs must be cut from the California Department of Education because these employees are “robbing the taxpayer”.  As evidenced by the handling of the LAO report, Meg Whitman thinks it’s acceptable to ignore government reports.
 
 
The opinions in this editorial reflect the views of its author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
 
 

 


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Attention. You young, union, democrats have been running California for 30 years. Remember the legislature runs the state not the governor. And, it's in a MESS. Thus, I don't even need to read your article to know as a young democrat, you are blaming our problems on someone else, probably a republican.

Grow up. The union controlled democratic party put California's education in almost last place in this country not a yet to be elected republican.