[Noozhawk’s note: We republish news articles and commentaries from CalMatters on state and local policy issues that affect Santa Barbara County readers.]
The largest, and perhaps most significant, of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently proposed budget is $91 billion (plus $60 billion in local and federal funds) to educate California’s nearly 6 million students in transitional K-12 schools.
How well-educated and prepared they are for higher education and the job market will be a major factor in determining the success or failure of the state’s economy and, by extension, the entire social economy.
Given the amount of money spent on education and its importance, it’s no surprise that it ranks so highly in the Capitol’s annual budget.
That’s certainly been the case this year, as Newsom’s previous budget proposal was billions of dollars short of what the state constitution mandates to allocate to schools, with a promise to make it up later, sparking opposition from school officials across the state.
Education consistently ranks very high in surveys of voter priorities. School lobby groups, including the very powerful California Teachers Association, will use that to pressure Congress to increase its share of the revenue stream.
One might think that with the stakes in education funding so high and its place in Californians’ hopes for a prosperous future, would-be Newsom successors would be happy to oblige.
That would be especially helpful given that, as a parting gesture, Newsom wants to eliminate most of the state’s elective positions as superintendents of public instruction, leaving nearly all superintendent duties in the governor’s office.
If enacted, this relocation of jobs would make the next governor the de facto czar of the nation’s largest public education system.
But the silence on this matter from leading gubernatorial candidates is deafening.
They’re happy to trade personal insults in debates and campaign ads, and continue to make their points on issues like gas prices, housing, and homelessness.
But it leaves a blank in terms of how or if the school system will change.
Only one candidate, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, repeatedly brings up the issue in debates, noting that he is a former teacher.
The blackout of other candidates is further exacerbated by debate mediators’ eagerness to question candidates on other issues while keeping education off the table.
A new study by Stanford University’s Educational Opportunity Project examines other data showing that California’s public schools are falling far short of the academic performance needed for the state’s future.
The study cataloged reading and math test scores across the country in 2025 and found that almost everywhere, academic performance is lower than it was 10 years ago. Reading proficiency is declining in 83% of local school systems, and math is declining in 70%.
Most alarmingly, California is not only not immune to this trend, but is also one of the states with the steepest decline.
Only eight states and the District of Columbia saw a larger decline in reading than California.
In reporting on the study, The New York Times created a website where readers could see specific results for individual school systems.
For example, Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest system, saw small gains in reading and math scores, while Oakland Unified School District saw declines in both scores, and San Diego Unified School District showed declines in reading and gains in math scores.
After years and even decades of ignoring deficiencies in these basic skills, California recently did something it should have done a long time ago: incorporate phonics into reading instruction.
Additionally, a bill to diagnose and treat math deficiencies is moving on Capitol Hill.
The next governor must redouble these and other efforts to restore California’s public schools to their former glory. The people vying for the job should tell us whether they intend to do what is needed and how they intend to do it.
This commentary was originally published on CalMatters and is reposted with permission. Click here to sign up for the CalMatters Newsletter.
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