2000 is shaping up to be the most important election year for education in recent memory. With recent polls indicating that education is the number one concern for voters, both major presidential candidates have staked out positions on what they would do to improve public schools.
In addition, several California ballot initiatives also have significant implications for the state's education system, namely Proposition 38, the school voucher initiative and Proposition 39, the school facilities 55 percent local vote requirement initiative.
With the November 7 general election rapidly approaching, the Learning Exchange offers its readers access to information on the presidential candidates as well as to information on the state ballot initiatives.
A good place to start is the online version of the California Secretary of State Official Voter Information Guide (http://vote2000.ss.ca.gov/VoterGuide/) which provides a sample version of the state ballot, as well as candidate and ballot measure statements.
Be a "Smart Voter" and check out the non-partisan information from the League of Women Voters (http://ca.lwv.org). You might also want to check out the Democracy Network (http://www.dnet.org) which provides position statements from the candidates, pro and con arguments on the ballot measurements and a candidates issues grid. Real political junkies should check out the California Voter Foundation (www.calvoter.org/home.html) which provides 300-plus pages of voter information on the statewide races and ballot measures, as well as the 54 Congressional and 100 legislative races.
Be sure to vote on November 7.
