Honig Deserves a Third Term : School Scores Are Up, Dropouts Down, but There’s Still Lots to Do

Bill Honig can take pride in the steady progress made by the state’s public schools during his tenure as state superintendent of public instruction. Test scores are up. The dropout rate is down. His initiatives and reforms are beginning to work. But there is much more to do to make sure that every child graduates.

California ranks near the bottom nationally in its graduation rate, expenditure per student and average classroom size. So Honig’s remaining challenges are tough.

One out of six children in this state’s schools speak a language other than English. The number of children for whom English is a second language and the number of poor children in our classrooms have doubled since Honig was first elected eight years ago.

Overcrowding also remains a stubborn problem, and more children are coming. An annual increase of 160,000 students is predicted by the state Department of Finance. At that rate, California’s total enrollment is expected to swell well beyond 6 million during the next decade.

Honig knows how to ensure financing for schools. He pushed tirelessly two years ago for passage of a school funding initiative that guarantees public schools and community colleges 40% of the state’s general revenues. Thus, budget skirmishes will not shortchange school children. But that money must be applied to operating budgets and not to construction.

To further shore up financing for schools and other pressing needs, Honig backs a proposal to raise the taxes paid by wealthy Californians. It’s a provocative idea that won’t win him many popularity contests.

Honig is not afraid to take unpopular stands. He believes all children can learn and all schools can work. He has built a coalition that includes teachers and business leaders to reverse the academic and physical deterioration of California’s public schools. He has earned a third term as state superintendent of public instruction.