Tight Race Expected For State Superintendent

SACRAMENTO (KCBS) _ Californians will choose a new state Superintendent of Public Instruction at the ballot box in November.

Retired school superintendent Larry Aceves said if he's elected, he'll speak for California's children, who deserve quality teachers.

"Every year that a child is in a classroom of a bad teacher, they lose at least a half a year to year and get behind other students," Aceves said. "For many of our kids in inner cities, that's a death sentence."

KCBS' Melissa Culross Reports:

State Assemblyman Tom Torlakson is also running for the position and said he will bring together a team of business and labor leaders, parents and school board leaders to pressure state lawmakers into restoring school funding.

"I think we need to rebuild confidence by bringing a coalition of forces together that will say, this is bad for our economy," Torlakson said. "Taking away the investment in education is harmful to children. We will have the moral and the economic arguments to turn it around in Sacramento."

Aceves and Torlakson both agree that the Superintendent of Public Instruction should do more to inform the public of the state of California's schools.

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