California educates one-eighth of all students in the US, but it is ranking in the bottom of all the states in terms of math and reading, which helps explain why our students are not competitive internationally. California has tried to improve schools through detailed regulations, categorical spending programs, and a virtually undecipherable financial system. In his 2012 State of the State Speech, Gov. Jerry Brown made k-12 education a key focus.

In the first part of our 3-part series on k-12 education in California, we will examine the details of the Governor’s proposal and whether they will then make California’s schools great again.

H.D. Palmer, Deputy Director for External Affairs at the California Department of Finance, Sue Burr, Executive Director of the CA State Board of Education, and John Fensterwald, editor of “The Educated Guess,” a blog on CA education written for the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, discuss Gov. Brown’s education agenda for 2012.

ORIGINAL AIR DATE: JUNE 19, 2012