Arnold Schwarzenegger was supposed to be the education governor of California. Since becoming the Golden State's chief executive, the former Hollywood action star has vowed to bring the same kind of leadership and muscle to education reform as he once brought to the big screen. Daniel Weintraub, in an excellent article in the current issue of Education Next, however, shows Schwarzenegger has been a dismal failure.
The reason:?? The Terminator has been tamed by California's powerful teachers unions. Weintraub, a columnist for the Sacramento Bee, demonstrates that the massive California Teachers Association (CTA) and the feisty California Federation of Teachers (CFA) have successfully blocked almost every major Schwarzenegger initiative. The governor has been reduced to playing defense. He has vetoed countless bills sent to him by the teachers unions' allies in the Democrat-controlled legislature. Thus, Schwarzenegger has succeeded in protecting California's effective system of standards, testing, and accountability from being eroded. But he has failed to go on the political offensive, forging the broad-based consensus necessary for overhauling the state's public schools.
Weintraub concedes that Schwarzenegger's heart is in the right place. He has good ideas. Schwarzenegger knows what needs to be done to bring about meaningful reform--devolve greater power and authority to local school districts; provide much more flexibility in state education spending; make teaching a true profession by giving teachers more pay and training, while holding them accountable for classroom performance; grant principals the ability to hire and fire their teaching staffs; concentrate on narrowing the achievement gap between students from low-income families and those living in affluent, suburban neighborhoods; and enforce stricter accountability across the board, from county superintendents to principals to educators. The problem with Schwarzenegger is not his policy goals; rather, it is his will--or the lack of it.
One of the reasons for his lack of testosterone is the state's severe budget crunch. California's education funding has been cut due to anemic tax revenues. Schwarzenegger has argued that it is unfair and unrealistic to ask the education establishment to accept painful, sweeping reforms as the state slashes spending by 3.5 to 4 billion dollars. I would argue that it's not unrealistic or even unfair, just difficult.
And his tough talk notwithstanding, Schwarzenegger--at least, when it comes to education--has so far been mostly bark and very little bite. Most experts, including the governor's chosen research panel which recently published its much-lauded education policy recommendations, have stated that fixing California's public schools is not a question of money. The system has enough to finance students' needs. It's a question of the right policy prescriptions. Schwarzenegger has some excellent ones, which would clearly go a long way toward improving the state's public education. But all the good proposals in the world don't amount to much if he is reluctant to spend precious political capital. That takes courage and leadership. Sadly, the Terminator is showing little of either.