“That all citizens will be given an equal start through a sound education is one of the most basic, promised rights of our democracy. Our chronic refusal as a nation to guarantee that right for all children… is rooted in a kind of moral blindness, or at least a failure of moral imagination…. It is a failure which threatens our future as a nation of citizens called to a common purpose… tied to one another by a common bond.”—Senator Paul Wellstone
The above statement, made in 2000, is even more starkly true today as we react to the release of the Governor’s May Budget Revision this week. While it is generally seen as having little or no change for public education from the initial proposal in January, it is predicated on the passage of a November ballot initiative which will increase taxes. So, as we anxiously held our collective breaths awaiting this revision, it actually brought no relief to our current budget crisis and ultimately