You probably already know that public schools in California aren’t funded well enough to provide all students with the educational investments they deserve. And I know you’re thinking, “Right, Richard, we could all use more money.” But listen to this: California ranks 47th out of 50 states for the amount of funding it gets to educate each student. New York, which also has a high cost of living, gives its K-12 public school districts almost double what California gives us. Read More

ATLANTA — When Beverly Hall first arrived in Atlanta as superintendent of the city's public school system, she cautioned she wouldn't be riding in on a white horse and that it would take time to fix the problems of low student performance. Read More

CHICAGO (AP) — Tens of thousands of Chicago students, parents and teachers learned Thursday their schools were on a long-feared list of 54 the city plans to close in an effort to stabilize an educational system facing a huge budget shortfall. Read More

Let’s assume, for the sake of argument or column writing, that the fundamental task of any public-school system is to maximize the number of students who graduate from high school and are ready to either enter the workforce or further their educations. Read More