By Chris Clark, CEO/ Founder, The SMART Foundation
Last week I was honored to join members of the LA Chamber of Commerce as a current Fellow of the Leadership Southern California Network on their annual trek to meet with state legislative leaders in Sacramento, CA. The event was called Access Sacramento and the purpose is to express where the chamber stands on key issues such as the budget, healthcare, business and education.
At first I was excited at the opportunity to witness the political process up close and in person. However, to be honest, my initial excitement was soon turned into disappointment as we were confronted head on with the gloomy reality of the current budget crisis and the crippling effects of a legislative body seemingly choosing party politics over productivity. I felt as though I was smacked in the face with the worst politics had to offer, the political blame game.
The chamber put together seven focus groups made up of 6-10 members and set up appointments for each group to meet with 7-8 legislative leaders and their staff. Four of the seven focus groups were education based which shows the chamber’s commitment to education. I was assigned to a group focused on the need of K-12 education.
My goal in each of these meetings was to ask a simple question: what is your vision for education in CA? What I hoped to hear was, “Every child deserves the best,” or “We want to get back to being #1,” or even “Children are the future of CA.” I felt through this question I was handing them the proverbial baby to kiss, and the opportunity to share their grandiose vision for education. After all, we were delegates from the largest chamber in the state ready to be told what we came to hear, that Sacramento valued education as much as we did.
The response was disappointing. Not one legislative leader or staff member we met with shared any resemblance of a vision for education. They seem to be so mired in the current budget crisis that they have lost the ability to establish a clear vision for what they are working towards. The Education Consultant to Senator Darrell Steinberg stated she thought the vision for education was going to need to come from outside of this building, meaning the capitol. Richard Zeigler, the Chief Deputy Superintendent, poised the question, “Will the proposed tax extension buy us the schools we want… probably not.”
This is not to say that good work is not being done. Assembly member Julia Brownley, the Chair of the Assembly Education Committee, has authored two bills supported by the Chamber. AB 18 deals with school district finance reform and AB 250 is regarding the implementation of the next generation of comprehensive curriculum standards. Both are necessary actions, but how do you establish goals without a vision?
This excursion to Sacramento taught me two things:
1. Although the battle for music and arts education is an every/all proposition and needs to be fought on all fronts, support for our schools will have to come from the local level. We need to tell the legislature what our vision for education is. As parents and community members we need to do all we can to make sure our children benefit from a well rounded education.
2. Organizations like the LA Chamber of Commerce should be praised for their efforts at making sure our children have access to a quality education. They understand that business is the greatest beneficiary of education, and our children are worthy of the investment.
The SMART Foundation has developed a step by step program for starting a music and arts education support group in your school or community called Champions for Music and Arts Education. To become a Champion in your community visit
www.smartfoundation.org and download the free starter kit.
