A conversation with ... Phil Angelides 

Philip Nicholas “Phil” Angelides, 53, was elected state treasurer in 1998 and re-elected in 2002. He is a graduate of Harvard University with a degree in economics and worked in California state government from 1975 to 1983, focusing on affordable housing and sustainable development. He moved to the private sector in 1984 and started his own development business in 1986. He has long been active in the California Democratic Party, serving as its chair in 1991.

Angelides lives in his hometown of Sacramento with his wife, Julie, and his youngest daughter, Arianna. They have two other daughters, Megan and Christina.
Angelides provided the following written responses to questions submitted by former California Schools Managing Editor Kristi Garrett.

The Governor’s Advisory Committee on Education Excellence has commissioned research studies to determine what it would cost to educate all students to meet the state’s rigorous academic standards. If that research indicates the state’s schools are underfunded, how would you respond? Would you support a tax increase to raise additional revenues?

As governor, I will fight for the funding our schools need and deserve. A generation ago, in Reagan’s day, California’s per pupil spending was $400 above the national average; today, we are more than $600 below the national average. I will go up and down the state to make the case that we once again need to use our wealth wisely to invest in our children’s education. Money will not solve all our school challenges, but we cannot have world-class schools with substandard investment. Presently, large corporations and people making more than $500,000 a year are receiving $17 billion a year in tax cuts from the state and federal governments. Meanwhile, our schools are underfunded and middle class families are paying more for college. As governor, I will close corporate tax loopholes and ask the wealthiest Californians to pay their fair share again.

There is little question that high-quality teaching is critical for student success. What would you do as governor to enhance school districts’ ability to recruit and retain the best teachers, especially in historically low-performing schools?

To compete successfully in the global economy of the 21st century, California must have the best schools and best teachers to give our children the knowledge and skills they need. I will be a governor who elevates the teaching profession—who trains them and rewards them—so young people from across America join our corps of educators.

To meet the challenge of recruiting over 100,000 new teachers in the next decade, I will pursue a comprehensive plan to assure that every child has a well-trained teacher in the classroom and that every teacher has the support he or she needs to do a difficult and vital job. My plan will attract bright young people and mid-career workers to teaching, reduce fees on students studying to become teachers, and provide more support and professional training for teachers in the classroom.

The Angelides Teachers for Our Future plan will:

• Restore and expand California’s teaching fellowship program to attract bright young people and mid-career adults to teaching.
• Roll back Arnold Schwarzenegger’s fee increases on teacher training.
• Identify the pay and incentives California needs to attract and retain talented teachers.
• Restore funding for teacher support.
• Double the number of public school counselors to support teachers in the classroom.
• Expand homeownership assistance for teachers.

As governor, I will address the large achievement gap between affluent communities and poorer neighborhoods. When affluent parents decide where to educate their children, they look for a school with strong leaders and quality teachers, small classes, high standards, adequate resources, and safe and orderly classrooms. All our children deserve that same kind of school. As governor, I will work to close the gaps in both achievement and resources. As treasurer, I created the Extra Credit Teacher Home Purchase Program to provide low-interest home loans and down-payment assistance to teachers who have committed to serve in the toughest-to-teach schools. I will find the resources for more instructional time, for smaller classes, and for getting more senior faculty and strong principals in low-income schools, providing the support for school leaders to help them do their job. We have an obligation to assure that every child gets an equal opportunity to achieve his or her full potential.

Responding to pressure to improve public schools and student outcomes, some political leaders have resorted to trying just about anything that promises change—whether or not the evidence supports it—because they feel any action is better than living with the status quo. How do you decide which school reform proposals to support?

As governor, I will consult closely and work with the education community to improve our schools and broaden opportunities for our children. I will work closely with Superintendent Jack O’Connell and will appoint an education secretary who shares my values and is committed to a collaborative relationship with California’s education community. I will hold frequent and regular educational forums with teachers and other education leaders throughout the state to exchange information about what is going on in K-12 education and what needs to be done at the state level. I will also make regular visits to schools to learn best practices and educate the public about the value, effectiveness and successes of our schools.

How willing would you be to change one of your campaign positions on education if presented with compelling evidence that there were more appropriate ways to achieve the goal in question?

I will always advocate for best practices that enhance the effectiveness and success of our schools. As governor, I will always be open to new ideas that will help our children better succeed.

If you are elected, how would local education agencies be better off four years from now than they are today?

As governor, my highest priority will be to re-create the social and political consensus that public education is central to our success as a people and an economy. I will take the lead to bring people together, building a movement that once again places California’s schools at the center of our public dialogue and at the pinnacle of excellence, and I will fight for the funding our schools need and deserve.

Schwarzenegger has proposed to take defined benefit pensions away from teachers and tried to saddle school districts with the state’s obligation to make teachers’ pension contributions, and his idea of “reform,” embodied in his special election measures, was to reduce the Proposition 98 school funding guarantee and put teachers on probation for five years. I will be a different kind of governor—a governor the education community can count on to work toward world-class schools with more instructional time, smaller classes, and more senior faculty and strong principals in low-income schools . As governor, I will make clear that schools can’t do it alone; that poor children and their families need health insurance, jobs, and safe neighborhoods. We have an obligation to assure that every child gets an equal opportunity to achieve his or her full potential.

Kristi Garrett (kgarrett@csba.org) was managing editor of California Schools at the time of this interview.