O'Connell calls for new programs

Even in the middle of a fiscal crisis, California can still improve its school system by boosting support for minority students and expanding preschool programs, state Superintendent for Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said Tuesday.Harrison Sheppard in the Daily News.

O'Connell delivered his fifth annual State of Education address to educators and administrators in Sacramento who were painfully aware that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for cutting $4.4 billion from schools in the next 18 months as part of an effort to close a $14.5 billion budget deficit.

"We have a serious budget shortfall, but improving our education system is the key to ensuring that California has a well-qualified work force to secure a healthy economy in the future," O'Connell said.