Schools bill integrates
DOE chief’s proposalsThe measure includes giving
more budget control to principals
Much of what schools Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto sought in her "State of the Schools" speech at the start of the legislative session is contained in the education bill now poised for passage.
Provisions in Senate Bill 3238 that would give principals more control over school budgets and give parents and staff a say in decision-making at their schools also dovetail with recommendations from last month's Education Summit, Hamamoto said yesterday.
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"This will require a major shift of philosophy in how we do business in public education," she said at a news conference. "For the first time, we will be involving the community in helping us decide how best to spend our money to help student achievement."
In her speech to a joint session of the Legislature on Jan. 29, Hamamoto called for a board of directors for each public school elected by school staff and parents. Senate Bill 3238, which is headed to final votes in the House and Senate, would make that a reality by mandating the creation of school community councils.
Hamamoto also wanted to give schools more lump-sum funding to allow them flexibility in using their budgets as they see fit. The bill would give principals control of 70 percent of the Department of Education's budget, excluding debt service and capital improvement projects.
"That's quite a significant amount of money, and with that comes flexibility," Hamamoto said.
Principals will be able to redeploy staff and funds to suit their schools' academic plans, rather than merely accepting staff allotments as mandated by the department, she said.
The department plans to pilot the school community councils at a dozen campuses statewide starting in January, and then go statewide the following year. A funding formula that allocates money based on the unique needs of each student would kick in for the 2006-2007 school year, after a committee determines the weights for different categories, such as special education and English-language learners.
The bill also would require the Board of Education to adopt a common public school calendar, as Hamamoto had recommended, starting in the 2006-2007 school year.
Two items on her wish list -- putting principals on performance contracts and unshackling the Department of Education from other agencies -- were deferred for a year.
