Marshall Tuck and Tony Thurmond, the two candidates for state superintendent of public instruction, are of one mind on many fundamental educational challenges in California, like the need for more school funding, the importance of solving a teacher shortage, and a focus on closing disparities in achievement.
But scratch deeper, and differences emerge. On one issue expected to go before the Legislature next year, Tuck opposes letting districts reject a charter school it decides could have a negative financial impact on a district. Thurmond reframes the question in a way that charter defenders find problematic at best: He would condition opening a new charter school on compensating a district for the financial loss of revenue.
