Marshall Tuck for School Supe

Four years ago I highlighted Marshall Tuck's run for California Superintendent of Public Instruction here.  He came close, but did not win.  Now Tuck is back to try again.  I met him last night at a fundraiser which gave me a chance to hear about his platform.  There are at least two good reasons to vote for a candidate.  You can support their platform.  Or you may be forced to vote against a candidate you don't like--the "lesser of two evils" approach.  I think they both point to a vote for Tuck.

Over the course of an hour of Q&A, Tuck demonstrated a firm grasp of a wide variety of issues. He understands the the role of charter schools and how workable approaches can be shared with public school districts.  He demonstrated that understanding with examples that are precluded by the ponderous California Education Code, like work-study options, for example.  He showed a grasp of the financials including the pension explosion (no pun intended, just $80 billion unfunded) and pointed to some additional funding options (e.g. the marijuana taxes and the new Internet sales taxes).  And he has feet on the ground experience in the LA public schools.  You get the drift and can read more here.

Getting him to address the second issue of his opponent's record took a bit of prodding, but Tuck is well aware of Thurmond's shortcomings as enumerated by the SF Chronicle here.  You should click through and read the litany of failures before you vote.

I wasn't the only B'gamer attending last night.  There was a bit of a hometown feel since Tuck grew up in B'game and later H'borough and he went to OLA and Crocker. I met our own B'game Elementary School District superintendent, Maggie MacIsaac, at the event and she was very clear on her support of Marshall's platform.  That is actually a third reason to vote for someone-- when a trusted advisor recommends it.  Here is Maggie and Marshall and the Education Code tome that could probably use a good trimming down.

Comments

[Bruce Dickinson]

Let's hope that Tuck is a little better than Mags when it comes to fiscal prudence.

The overpaying for Hooverville was a huge fiasco, all made worse by trying to ram through the approval of the school without due process of properly notifying the neighbors, allowing full public input and conducting extensive environmental studies (the neighbors sued BSD to a devastating effect until a very costly settlement was reached).

Capital improvement bonds, parcel taxes, and the donations to the non-for-profit Burlingame Community Education fund are what saved Mags' derriere and allowed her assistant Supe to take the fall.

This Dickinson never forgets!

[Joe]

The Daily Journal is reporting some timely stats:

Consistent with high levels of achievement historically, the Hillsborough City Elementary School District set the local pace for public school systems in scoring as 83 percent of students met or exceeded their English scores and 84 achieved similarly in math. School systems in Burlingame, San Carlos, Belmont and Redwood Shores replicated their high levels of achievement as well, again hitting marks in the 70s for meeting and exceeding expectations in both fields.

Not all districts improved though, as local high school district scores showed signs of slipping. Seventy-one percent of San Mateo Union High School District students met or exceeded their English standards, down 6 percent from the year prior while 51 percent achieved similarly in math, down 4 percent from last year.

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/county-student-performance-keeps-improving/article_219efe76-c6ba-11e8-859d-a3d93b7aa1b2.html

[Joe]

Please keep this recommendation in mind now that the ballots are arriving in San Mateo County!

[Cassandra]

No HSR = John Cox for governor.

[Hollyroller]

"Green Grass and High Times Forever."

[Joe]

CalMatters.org is reporting on Politico's reporting:

While the pandemic widened California’s educational achievement gap, the man charged with helping close it — Daniel Lee, the state’s first superintendent of equity — was more than 2,500 miles away in Philadelphia, where he lives and has a separate job, according to a bombshell Politico investigation.

It’s the latest report to cast scrutiny on Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the state’s schools chief who hired Lee — his friend of more than two decades — for one of the education department’s highest-paid positions without publicly posting the job and despite Lee’s lack of experience in California or relationships with school districts.

Thurmond, who faces reelection next year, is also under fire for allegedly creating such a hostile and toxic work environment that nearly two dozen top officials have fled the state Department of Education since 2019. He also faced criticism earlier in the pandemic for largely remaining silent during the state’s debate over school reopening.
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It's way past time to get rid of this guy Thurmond.

[Joe]

This just in from Edsource. Did Newsom tell Thurmond to delay the scores until after the election or did Thurmond think it up all by himself?

In a significant departure, the California Department of Education is withholding the release of the results of the Smarter Balanced tests that students took last spring until an undetermined date later this year. The result will be a monthslong delay before the public can view results in English language arts, math and science for the state, districts, schools and charter schools.

The denial of EdSource’s request to release test score data comes at a time when educators are concerned about the pandemic’s impact on reading and math progress, especially in the early years. Releasing scores “later this year” means that the public will learn about spring test results for third-graders who are now well into fourth grade.

[Skelly's Batmobile -(its gonna need to be investigated)]

This isn't just at the state level.

Withholding information not only prevents leadership from making effective decisions, but also prevents negligence from being corrected or individuals from being held responsible.

At the local level, withholding essential information has become standard operating procedure, costing the local taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, while negligence became embedded into the system.

Local requests for Public Records are also being blocked (often by the individual who the request is about!) as the requested information would cause great humiliation and embarrassment as the negligence is made public.

It's not just Sacramento that is engaged in the cover up.

All Politics is Local- Get Involved.

https://www.burlingamevoice.com/2021/08/smushd-suspensions-to-proceed-appeals-likely.html

[Cassandra]

Meaning until after the election.