Keep California’s Promise

Keep California’s Promise (click for direct link)

Fourty nine dollars per person per year. Why has that amount become prohibitive?

This is the amount the study I link to above indicates is needed to restore higher education in CA. As an arts educator and as a parent of a graduating HS senior I have experienced the anguish resulting from ‘left behind’ mandates and classroom sizes that are quite clearly too large. I have experienced the anxiety surrounding the process of college applications partnered with the agony of information about impacted classrooms, and 4 year programs that slip into a 5th year followed by limited job prospects and loads of student debt. Messed up – right?

I think it is very important to articulate specific dollar amounts for ‘fixing’ K-12 education. Any guesses how much per person it would take?

Once you have a number you then process it using the fundraising spin upon that amount – much like public radio… if it is $49. per year that is just under .14 cents a day. How many haircuts, pedicures, dinners out would you need to skip each year to erase this shortfall? What would be the impact upon national security if funds from the military budget were shifted to cultivate the minds and hearts of our children? One less tank or one less drone?

What does keeping a promise look like?

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