The Demise of Public Education

The evening of July 7 was tough. I am a school board member for the Irvine Unified School District. We, like hundreds of other boards throughout California, are in the middle of a horrible budget reduction process brought on because of the California financial crisis. For four hours that evening, my fellow board members and I listened to dozens of good people give public testimony (about a variety of programs). I firmly believe that 95% of those who testified know we believe as they do about all of these programs.

But the reality is, there are no real choices. We are beyond the point of even setting priorities. It is not a matter, at our level, of deciding this program against that. We look in the money bucket and find there is none. Anything not nailed down by statute or contract is vulnerable and will very likely see reduction.

Who do we blame? It depends upon where one falls in the chain. Many community members blame the board and administration. We, I confess, too often simply blame Sacramento. And all of us blame Washington. But though at each level there is some blame that is probably legitimate, I do not believe any of these are the core reasons for the demise of public education in California.

What is the core problem? I believe the core problem is rooted in a moral failure on all of our parts. I believe it is immoral when any individual in society feels little or no responsibility for the larger community. And to the extent that we have been watching the demise of children’s education and health and welfare services, we are seeing the results of our collective immorality as individuals.

California ranks toward the bottom in dollars spent per student for education. And frankly, it galls me to hear some continually denigrate public education as a great failure and endless money pit. To the contrary, I think the institution in California has done quite well, given the dollars per child provided.

The core solution is not among school boards, or even in Sacramento. To the extent we grant ourselves the luxury of believing otherwise is the extent to which we will continue to see our social and educational infrastructure unravel. The solution must come out of our own hearts. We as individuals must embrace the fundamental moral value of personal responsibility for the larger community.

It is my belief that we must see the children of California, all of the children, as our neighbors.

Furthermore, we must be willing to demonstrate the moral courage necessary to accept responsibility for these children, not just my children, all children. And quite frankly, that translates into money. If we begin at this level, then there is the foundation for empowering our political leaders to forge solutions. Without it, well. . . .

MICHAEL B. REGELE

Member, Irvine Unified School

District Board of Education