O'Connell Outlines Plan For California Schools
Jack O'Connell, California Superintendent of Public Instruction, recently outlined his 2004 accomplishments as well as his goals for 2005. Included in his list of achievements for 2004 was the award to the California Department of Education (CDE) "a $75 million
grant from the federal Public Charter Schools Grant Program to be used in the development of up to 254 charter schools by 2007."
Though none of his
2005 goals are charter school specific, the San Jose Mercury News (subscription)
reported that during a press conference he did mention that "We want to replicate good charter schools and weed out the bad charter schools that are not out there to invest in public education." In 2004, CDE stepped up its oversight of charter schools which led to the
closure of Victorville-based California Charter Academy.
