CSBA welcomes appointment of Education secretary

Riverside’s David Long has 40 years of education experience

Calling the Riverside County schools superintendent “as steady and grounded an individual as one could meet in education,” CSBA Executive Director Scott P. Plotkin applauded the recent appointment of David Long as California’s new secretary of Education.

Plotkin said the new Education secretary could play a key role in convening serious policy discussions about the comprehensive school governance and finance studies released two weeks before Long’s appointment in late March. With another set of studies to be released by CSBA and its research partners later this year, the reports are expected to set the agenda for education in California through 2008 and beyond.

“This bodes well for our chances of engaging the governor in the critical conversation about comprehensive education reform and adequate school funding,” Plotkin said of Long’s appointment.

CSBA President Kathy Kinley, a longtime educator in San Bernardino County who is familiar with Long’s work in the neighboring county, said she was also delighted with the appointment of a man with such extensive experience in the field.

“He managed tremendous enrollment growth during his time in Riverside County, and he also understands the issue of declining enrollment,” said Kinley, a retired middle school principal and former teacher who serves on the Chaffey Joint Union High School District Board of Trustees. “I believe he is an excellent choice. He realizes the challenges that schools face in this age of accountability, and he also understands the need for more resources.”

Kinley said Riverside and San Bernardino counties work closely together on a number of educational projects, including The Promise Initiative for English language learners. Both counties serve large numbers of students who speak a primary language other than English. She praised Long’s involvement with federal Education Secretary Margaret Spellings on the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program.

Kinley said she hopes Long will work with the association as a partner on CSBA’s Fix NCLB campaign that, among other things, seeks to reform the federal law to include more workable and realistic goals. “I am also hoping we’ll be partners in the effort to close the achievement gap,” she said.

Long brings 40 years of education experience to his new cabinet post, including 21 years as a classroom teacher. As Riverside County superintendent, a position he held since 1999, he oversaw 23 school districts and more than 400,000 students. He was superintendent of schools for the Lake Elsinore Unified School District between 1992 and 1999 and for the Banning Unified School District from 1989 to 1992.