Michael Kirst reflects on California's changing educational landscape
By Louis Freedberg ~ EdSource Extra
Michael Kirst, president of the State Board of Education, says the
process that resulted in his confirmation, which involved getting a
two-thirds vote in the state Senate, was “useful” in getting to know
Republicans in the Legislature and has laid the groundwork for
cooperation on a number of issues in the future.
Kirst is one of the few people in state government to return to the same
post he occupied during Governor Brown’s first stint as governor.
(Another is Mary Nichols, reappointed by Governor Brown as chairman of
the California Air Resources Board.) In an interview with EdSource’s
Louis Freedberg, Kirst reflected on how much has changed in education
and on the board since he last held this role three decades ago—and how
much hasn’t. He and other board members receive a $100 per diem for
their labors.
One of the biggest changes is the large amount of time the board spends on charter schools. Kirst says Governor Brown’s elimination of the Secretary of Education position from his cabinet has not made a difference to the board’s functioning, although he worries that higher education may not be sufficiently represented in the state’s executive branch. He also never saw as much public engagement during his first term on the board as the sustained outpouring of support by parents and others organized by the Los Angeles-based Parent Revolution earlier this year for a state law allowing a majority of parents to turn their schools into charter schools.
