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January 5-11, 2001
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Updated 5:00 p.m. PDT
Gov. Gray Davis is calling for $380 million to be spent on a
variety of public school initiatives, including a new teacher training
program and improvements in algebra instruction, administration officials
said Wednesday.
Davis wants to spend $335 million as part of a three-year plan to
provide training in math, English and related subjects to 252,000 public
school teachers during a three-year period, said the officials, speaking
on the condition that they not be identified.
The plan calls for 40 hours of "intensive training" plus 80 hours of
follow-up training. As an incentive to local districts, the state would
give schools $2,500 for each teacher who participates.
The proposal is the first of several that will be released in coming
days as Davis prepares to announce his 2001-2002 budget next week.
The Legislature, which must approve a new budget by June, will hold
hearings on the overall spending plan, sure to top $100 billion, later
this year. The Davis administration, like the administration of Gov. Pete
Wilson, leaks parts of the budget to build support for it.
In addition to the teacher training money, Davis proposes to spend $30
million to attract and retain algebra teachers. The state already
requires that students take--though not necessarily pass--algebra as a
condition of high school graduation.
To carry out that requirement, the administration says the state must
attract 1,300 more middle and high school math teachers. As part of the
plan, Davis will offer schools $50 for each student who takes algebra and
the algebra test in the 2001-2002 school year. Finally, Davis proposes to
spend $15 million to increase training for school principals.
"Well, that's interesting," Senate President Pro Tem John Burton
(D-San Francisco) said of the proposals. "The only subject matter that is
really on my mind at this time is the energy situation and how we can, if
possible, deal with it. I'm not thinking of algebra."
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