Early education dollars going to Aceves in race for schools chief
By Allen Young, School Innovations & Advocacy
Although still early in the race for state school chief, former district administrator and political newcomer Larry Aceves has emerged the clear favorite among education’s political contributors, an analysis of campaign statements shows.
Aceves, a past superintendent of Franklin-McKinleySchool District in San Jose and a one-time president of the Association of California School Administrators, reported donations of $202,854 so far this year – of which, $145,400 or 71 percent came from individuals within the education community including district superintendents, teachers, administrators, statewide school groups and education consultants.
His two rivals for the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction – both far better known and with much more political experience – have raised far less from the same education sources:
State Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, has raised a total of $132,794 since January, and about 24 percent – or $30,872 – from education sources. Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Martinez, has raised $184,021 so far, but only 4 percent, or $7,475, has come from the education community.
With still 10 months to go before the critical June primary, there’s no certainty that Aceves will maintain what appears to be strong support from school insiders. Political observers are also divided over how that support will translate come Election Day – especially since the state’s powerful teachers union has yet to weigh in.
“It could be helpful to him,” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior scholar at the school of policy planning and development at the University of Southern California. “If indeed Aceves has a statewide network of people who can go out and walk precincts, man phone banks, and contribute, that could be very powerful.
“But those are big ifs,” she added.
The public school superintendent, the only statewide office that is elected on a nonpartisan basis, has in the recent past been a race largely determined by the preferences of party loyalists and big employee groups like the California Teachers Association.
Unlike a campaign for governor or some of the other constitutional offices, the race for state school chief tends not to be one where huge amounts of money are needed to win. But that could change this year as three candidates, each with clear fundraising prowess, collide in June.
If one candidates gets more than 50 percent of the vote, they would be declared the winner and avoid the November runoff.
Overall, Assemblyman Torlakson has the most cash to work about with $543,000 – thanks mostly to a transfer of $356,641 from his Assembly committee.
A former classroom teacher and two-term state senator representing Contra Costa County, Torlakson is hoping to end up the favorite of the CTA and school labor groups.
But Shannan Velayas, spokeswoman for Torlakson, said that he’s “demonstrated the ability to reach a wider donor base,” she said. “We saw this on the last reporting period.”
Romero, the other political heavyweight in the race, chairs the Senate Education Committee and holds the distinction of being the first women to serve as senate majority leader. She, too, would like the endorsement of labor but has recently also been working with EdVoice, a key reform organization with close ties to Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
EdVoice, which includes on its board some major money players in California politics, could potentially match the CTA in campaign spending and has already given generously to Romero.
Romero declined comment for this article.
Meanwhile, Aceves appears to have secured his base among the people who actually run schools and called himself a “down in the dirt educator” that will run a nontraditional, grassroots campaign.
“I intend to go to one community at a time, one rotary club at a time,” he said. “My fundraising will be (smaller contributions) from the people who believe in me.”
The candidate added that he also hopes to seek contributions from bigger donors, arguing that a successful SPI campaign will take at least two to four million dollars.
Long-time Democratic strategist Steve Maviglio said that in the end, big ticket contributors will be essential to determining the winner.
“Aceves hasn’t cornered the market,” he said. “The name of game in this race is going to be independent expenditures by EdVoice, CTA, and other players that typically run their own campaigns.”
Editor’s Note: This report was based on analysis of campaign statements filed with the Secretary of State’s office covering Jan. 1 through August 21, 2009. As a reference, contributions from the education community were defined as broadly as possible and consistently applied to all three candidates.
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PUSD staff members gather for pre-year activity in Porterville
Program: Larry Aceves addresses audience
The Porterville Recorder
Sarah De Crescenzo
Staff development day at Porterville Unified School District featured speeches by Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Larry Aceves, district and teacher representatives.
Teachers sporting their campus’ latest apparel and the complete school board was present to hear administrators announce the year’s new teachers, newly tenured teachers and most experienced teachers.
Prior to the presentation, staff gathered in the courtyard to share breakfast and catch up following the summer break.
“It’s a great place to connect before the new year,” said the newly appointed vice president of the Porterville Educators Association, Irma Guajardo.
Guajardo said she sees staff development day as a time to get “pumped up” for the upcoming school year.
After breakfast, staff gathered into the Frank “Buck” Shaffer Theatre at the Porterville Memorial Auditorium and were greeted by a small staff chorus with a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
A sobering note was introduced as the number of new hires was revealed: Superintendent John Snavely announced the names and educational histories of only 13 new staff members.
“This is the smallest number [of new hires] I’ve ever seen in my 22 years I’ve been with the district,” Snavely said.
Two years ago, PUSD hired 77 new teachers.
Snavely also announced the names of 38 teachers who had earned tenure.
Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Val Staley announced the name of each teacher that had been employed by PUSD for 34 years or more, ending with her own name.
This will be Staley’s 43rd year with the district.
“We have over 500 years of experience with just those 13 staff [named],” Staley said.
Speakers Stan Ennis, president of the Porterville Educators Association, and Aceves both expounded on the importance of teamwork in the face of difficult economic times.
Aceves, who is one of three candidates for the Superintendent of Public Instruction position which will be open in 2010, was the only candidate to accept an invitation from PUSD to visit Porterville.
He received loud applause after discussing his time as an educator.
“You need someone [as Superintendent of Public Instruction] who’s been in the trenches, who’s been a teacher, a principal, who knows how to run a district,” Aceves said.
He promised to return to Porterville and to work in the schools’ interest if elected.
“You all need to know that once I’m in Sacramento — and I intend to be elected — you’ll have a partner,” he said.
In between presentations, a video of a number of students describing their favorite teachers was displayed.
“I have already gotten a lot of positive feedback on the slide show of kids,” Staley said.
Many of the children who described their favorite teacher inspired laughter and applause from the audience; most mentioned how much they enjoyed being in class when their favorite teacher was present.
“In a sense, we were hearing from our consumers,” Staley said.
Contact Sarah de Crescenzo at 784-5000, Ext. 1045, or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
CORRECTION: This version corrects a reference to the national anthem found in the sixth paragraph. A different song was incorrectly identified in a previous version.
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The Exam Debate
Larry weighs in on the current proposal to suspend the California High School Exit Exam
"Surprised" and "shocked" are words I've heard the media use to describe the response to a proposal by Democratic legislative leaders to suspend the requirement that students pass California's High School Exit Exam before receiving their diplomas.
The proposal to scrap the exam has been called "controversial" because it has divided education leaders from their usual allies in the Legislature.
While Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg say it's not fair to ask our students to risk giving up their diplomas as a result of state budget cuts, many education leaders fear dismantling a centerpiece of California's educational accountability system that was finally implemented just three years ago after years of delay.
But the debate over the exam, a budget line item that represents less than one-third of 0.001 of a percent of the budget shortfall, distracts from the more important "test" by which the state budget should be judged: the effect it will have on our children and on California's future. By just about any measure, the budget on the table in Sacramento now receives a failing grade.
California's top priorities must be to adequately fund our schools so that educators can continually improve the quality of instruction and the necessary support services that students receive, and to ensure that schools in poorer areas are funded at the same level as those from wealthier areas.
Of course, all teachers, principals and superintendents must be held accountable for their students' academic performance. But the state and federal governments have overburdened California's teachers, principals and superintendents with duplicative mandates and reporting.
The fact is that our kids have already paid the price for Sacramento's budget disarray, and the budget on the table in Sacramento would cause even worse damage to our students' ability to succeed. So let's not get distracted by a prolonged debate over keeping or scrapping the exit exam when we know the test matters little if we do not support our kids in preparing for college and for 21st century jobs.
Larry Aceves is a retired educator who served as superintendent in San Jose. He is a candidate for superintendent of public instruction in 2010. Contact us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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