California’s county superintendents’ organization failed to persuade legislative leaders to intervene in its dispute with state Superintendent Tony Thurmond.
County superintendents had sought to introduce emergency legislation to prevent Thurmond from following through on his threat to take over oversight of financially troubled Sacramento City Unified from the Sacramento County Office of Education. County superintendents say relying on this previously unused statutory authority would undermine their responsibility to work with districts in need of financial stability.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, and Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, refused to allow a special bill to be introduced Friday, the last day to introduce emergency legislation. Monday is the last day of the legislative session.
County superintendents hoped to change a 35-year-old state law on handling district budget crises (article k of the Education Code 42127.6). They sought to require the chairman of the State Board of Education to provide consent before the state superintendent replaces the authority of a county superintendent in overseeing a district facing possible insolvency.
The majority of lawmakers representing Sacramento City Unified supported the proposal, said Derick Lennox, senior director of government relations and legal affairs for the county superintendents.
We don’t know what will happen next. Lennox said the superintendents group has not decided whether to pursue the bill next year. Under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s K-12 structural realignment, approved by the Legislature in June, an education commissioner appointed in January by the next governor — not the next state superintendent — would manage the California Department of Education, including working with county superintendents.
“It all depends on whether the Superintendent of Public Instruction is doing exactly what lawmakers and parents fear: stripping away impartial county officials as an act of political power, rather than good budgetary judgment,” Lennox said in a statement Saturday.
“Like many yesterday, we heard troubling rumors that the state superintendent is preparing to assume financial oversight of Sac City Unified as early as next week,” he said.
Thurmond did not respond to EdSource’s request for comment Saturday.
This story was originally published by EdSource.
