Honig Feeling the Wrath of Deukmejian

State Schools Superintendent Bill Honig learned this month what it means to displease Gov. George Deukmejian.

Since January, Honig has been an outspoken critic of Deukmejian’s school budget. He launched a statewide campaign to mobilize opposition to the governor and, at every turn, accused Deukmejian of shortchanging the schools. In May, Honig even had the audacity to phone in to the Michael Jackson radio show when Deukmejian was a guest and challenge the governor on the air.

Today, the budget of Honig’s own Department of Education is in tatters--the victim of a 10% cutback by the governor. Deukmejian also slashed many of Honig’s pet programs, ones that were central to the superintendent’s drive to improve the schools.

Effect of Cutbacks

More important, the Republican governor singled out the public schools--kindergarten through high school--for their smallest budget increase in five years. School officials say this will lead to severe cutbacks in many districts this fall because of increasing enrollment.

And in a final move to undercut the superintendent, Deukmejian last week appointed a commission to investigate the school system and determine whether school officials are spending the taxpayers’ money wisely.

Honig quickly announced that he would “welcome” the commission’s investigation, but he also accused the governor of playing politics with the state budget.

“I think those cuts will be seen for what they are,” said Honig, whose criticism of Deukmejian has been enthusiastically seconded by Democratic lawmakers. “They’re vindictive and a way of slapping me down and saying, ‘We’ll make you pay for criticizing us.’ That smacks of totalitarianism.”

Deukmejian put it a little differently last week when he was asked whether his budget vetoes were an act of retaliation against the schools chief:

“I’m trying to help Bill Honig,” the governor said with a broad smile. “In 1982, when he was running for superintendent, he was expressing concern about the doubling of bureaucracy in the state Department of Education. So I thought we’d help him out a little bit and reduce some of that bureaucracy he’s got over there.”

According to school officials and legislators who have watched the two battle, Deukmejian’s goal has been to isolate Honig from his natural constituency: the education community. “The governor has declared Bill Honig a non-person,” one school lobbyist said privately.

‘Out of the Game’

Mike Frost, the governor’s chief of staff, said Honig is no longer a “player” in the state’s decision-making process, but maintained that it was not the result of any strategy by the governor. Honig has “taken himself out of the game” by attacking Deukmejian’s budget, Frost said.

Nevertheless, the outcome of the budget fight has made some educators wary of aligning themselves with Honig in the future, particularly school board members in districts around the state.

“Our members have been split. Some have been very concerned about the state superintendent,” said Dianne Jacob, president of the California School Boards Assn. “We’ve been working very hard to develop a good working relationship with the Administration.”

But spokesmen for teachers and school administrators said their support for Honig remains firm, despite the governor’s assault on the superintendent.

No Loss of Commitment

“This is the first time we’ve seen that sort of retribution,” said Bob Wells, a spokesman for the Assn. of California School Administrators. “But I don’t think that’s made us any less committed to Honig or the cause itself.”

Although the clash between the two political leaders has frequently taken the form of a personality conflict, it also reflects a deep division in philosophy.

Deukmejian, in keeping with the tax revolt of the late 1970s, has consistently advocated limiting the scope of government, keeping a lid on taxes and, when possible, giving taxpayers a rebate.

Honig, a former Democrat who is now officially an independent, contends that the time has come to rebuild California’s economic foundation. He has called for investing billions of new tax dollars in education, roads and other public facilities.

“It’s not a personal argument with the governor,” Honig said. “It’s a major policy discussion the state should have.”

Will Come to a Head

Over the next 16 months, the debate between the governor and the schools chief is likely to come to a head as these issues are placed before the voters.

Rival groups are making plans to put at least three initiatives on the ballot in June and November, 1988, that could decide the state’s political course for years to come.

Honig already is taking the lead in sponsoring one initiative that would relax the state’s constitutional spending limit and allow more spending on education and other programs.

Meanwhile, anti-tax crusader Paul Gann, author of the 1979 ballot proposition that imposed the spending limit, is backing a new initiative that would affirm support for the spending lid while exempting some highway funds.

And Republicans in the Assembly are planning an initiative that would give the state’s $1.1-billion surplus back to the taxpayers--rather than spend it on state programs, as Honig and Democratic legislators have proposed.

Dec. 1 Deadline

Deukmejian’s 15-member commission to investigate the schools has a deadline of Dec. 1 to deliver a preliminary report, and its findings could also help shape the debate.

But Frost, the governor’s chief of staff, plays down the policy differences between the two officials. He attributes Honig’s vocal criticism of the governor to the superintendent’s “personal political goals.”

The governor’s office has long hinted that Honig plans to run for governor. Honig, while saying that he has no intention now of seeking the job, has refused to rule out the possibility.

“I think Honig’s personal ambitions have played a very major role in this,” Frost said. “I think that the governor objectively has been the best governor for education in the history of this state. Obviously, he’s very proud of that.

“When somebody comes along and starts distorting the facts in order to undermine that, it is a cause for some concern. . . . We’re really disappointed in the way Honig has acted this year.”

Twisting the Record

In particular, Frost and other Republicans contend that Honig has twisted the governor’s record on education financing by arguing that Deukmejian’s budget proposal means a cutback in school spending. Administration officials say the budget for kindergarten through high school has increased by 62% since Deukmejian took office.

“I feel betrayed by Honig’s tactics,” said Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim), who was once a strong supporter of the superintendent and helped him raise campaign funds last year. “He ran a slick Madison Avenue campaign that really distorted the truth.”

Honig has repeatedly denied any distortion of the governor’s record and insists that many school districts will face serious financial difficulties this fall.

Antagonism between Deukmejian and Honig dates back to 1983, when both were newly elected. Honig, with the backing of a bipartisan group of educators, legislators and business leaders, pushed Deukmejian to approve an expensive “school reform” program designed to improve the quality of instruction and provide children with a better education in basic subjects.

Ultimately, Deukmejian’s approval of a compromise enabled the superintendent to embark on his well-publicized campaign for school reform.

Top Spending Priority

At the same time, Deukmejian has made education his top spending priority. In each of Deukmejian’s first four years in office, the governor has devoted roughly $1 billion in new tax money to kindergarten through high school.

In January, however, Deukmejian unveiled a proposed budget that contained a smaller increase for education than Honig and school officials had hoped for. Honig promptly branded the proposal a “disaster” for education. Deukmejian responded by calling Honig a “demagogue” and a “snake-oil salesman” and questioning the school chief’s political motives.

“The governor really takes these things personally and he was stung by the criticism,” Honig said. “In his mind, he has done a lot for schools and forgets we had to organize and put pressure on him to do it.”

To educators and many politicians, the biggest losers in the clash between Honig and Deukmejian have been the state’s 4.5 million schoolchildren.

In his budget for the fiscal year that began July 1, Deukmejian approved $330 million in new money for schools. That brings the state budget for kindergarten through high school to $12.5 billion, according to the governor’s Department of Finance.

Honig Says It’s Short

But Honig contends that this year’s increase is $470 million short of the amount needed to keep up with inflation and growing enrollment while still pushing ahead with the reform program.

“The kid in the classroom is the loser,” said Owen Waters, a lobbyist for the California Teachers Assn. “I don’t know of many school districts in the state that are not going to have to make a reduction.” To arrive at his $330-million spending level, Deukmejian vetoed about $170 million in school funds from the budget sent to him by the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Some of the cuts were in programs the governor himself had supported in the past.

Deukmejian’s vetoes were more severe than he initially planned because he and the Legislature were unable to reach agreement on a way to divide the state’s $1.1-billion surplus. As a result of the impasse, the state lost the opportunity to spend an additional $400 million and Deukmejian reduced the budget by that amount.

Included in the governor’s cuts was a $7.7-million reduction in the budget for Honig’s Department of Education, bringing it to $70.3 million.

Vetoes Programs

Deukmejian also vetoed $32.2 million for teacher training, one of the key programs approved by the governor in 1983 as part of the reform package. His veto eliminated 24 teacher training centers, a staff development program scheduled to include 484 schools and a grant program that would have paid teachers in more than 900 school districts to develop programs to improve classroom instruction.

Deukmejian cut another $13.1 million earmarked for the purchase of computer equipment for school districts, $5 million for a dropout-prevention program, $7 million in special education funds and $17.7 million in cost-of-living increases for a variety of educational programs that ranged from buying books to helping children read.

The governor’s largest education cut of all--$86.6 million--was in aid to urban school districts that have a high percentage of poor and minority students.

Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) predicted that Deukmejian’s vetoes will backfire politically. When the cuts are carried out at the local level, he said, outraged voters will support proposals to modify the state spending limit and allocate the tax surplus for schools and other programs.

“The governor’s so-called victory of this month will prove to be the disaster of next year,” Roberti said.

Fight Unavoidable

To Honig and his supporters, the fight with the governor was unavoidable once Deukmejian signaled his intention not to continue giving the schools a $1-billion increase.

“I’m not sure Bill (Honig) really had a choice,” said Waters, the teachers’ lobbyist. “If we had ended up where we are now without Bill fighting, a lot of people would have been asking, ‘Who is the superintendent and why did we elect him?’ ”

However, Honig’s campaign against Deukmejian has tarnished his independent standing and cost him some political support, particularly among Republicans who were among his strongest backers four years ago.

Today, teachers and Democratic lawmakers who were once skeptical of the superintendent are among Honig’s most vocal defenders, while Republican lawmakers have become some of his sharpest critics.

“Honig fell off his white horse,” said a disillusioned Sen. Seymour.

‘Willing to Fight’

But Roberti said: “Clearly, he’s lost some of his nonpartisan image. On the other hand, he’s shown he’s willing to fight for something he believes in and is willing to take the punches. He’s not another duck-and-feint officeholder.”

One political benefit for Honig has been his increased visibility, which could be a big help if he does decide to run for governor. For months, he has tangled publicly with the governor while other potential candidates in 1990, such as Controller Gray Davis and Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp, have been sitting on the sidelines. Furthermore, Honig is likely to stay in the public eye as he campaigns for the initiative to alter the state spending limit.