[Bridging_the_digital_divide] California and textbook costs

[Jason Barkeloo]

California debate on textbook costs draws U.S. interest

By Jessica Portner
Mercury News

Cost-conscious school districts around the country are watching closely  
as the California Senate prepares to debate a bill this month that  
would compel the state's board of education to weigh price for the  
first time when adopting new textbooks.

With 6 million public school students, California is the second-largest  
market in the $4 billion national textbook-publishing industry. A  
discount secured in California would have a ripple effect on some  
smaller states that routinely purchase books tailored for California  
because they lack the financial size and clout to commission texts  
specifically for them.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Joseph Canciamilla, D-Martinez, is  
set for a hearing in the Senate Education Committee on June 23. It was  
prompted by a 2002 Mercury News investigation that revealed the cost of  
state-adopted textbooks nearly tripled in the previous decade --  
largely because the state board failed to negotiate for the best price.

The bill already has passed the Assembly on a 50-10 vote.

``If California can negotiate so the price goes down, everyone will  
benefit,'' said Jody Gehrig of the Denver public schools, which had to  
seek a bond to pay for schoolbooks this year.

For years, state board members have determined what academic standards  
and content -- from Shakespearean sonnets to robotics -- belong in  
textbooks. School districts must abide by those choices if they use  
state money to buy the texts. The bill being debated would explicitly  
add cost to the decision-making equation -- meaning the state, for the  
first time, might choose a cheaper book that is almost as good as a  
more expensive one.

Publishers, who are lobbying hard in Sacramento against the measure,  
said the bill could force some booksellers to abandon the California  
market.

``This would trigger a national reaction that could cost us millions,''  
said Stephen Driesler, the executive director of the Association of  
American Publishers. A multi-state compact called ``Most Favored  
Nation'' prohibits booksellers from charging a different price for the  
same book sold in other member states. The legislation is ``an idea  
with many downsides.''

The bill, AB 2455, also mandates that publishers offer a 30 percent  
discount on second sets -- allowing schools to give students books to  
take home and keep a spare set for use in the classroom each day -- and  
asks them to submit new English and math titles to the board every  
eight years instead of six. This new schedule would delay by two years  
the ability publishers have to raise prices when new books are adopted.

Don Iglesias, the superintendent-elect of the San Jose Unified School  
District, said savings are critical at a time when the state budget  
deficit has prompted schools to choose among scrapping art classes,  
sacking librarians or waiting another year or two to buy new textbooks.

``We aren't asking for anything outrageous,'' said Iglesias, ``just a  
quality product at a reasonable price.''

The 2002 Mercury News analysis of state records showed that sixth-grade  
English/language arts textbooks cost $20 in California a decade before.  
By 2002, the price had jumped to $57, outpacing the rate of inflation  
and the spike in Bay Area home prices in the 1990s.

Driesler said textbooks are expensive in California because they must  
be fashioned for the state's rigorous academic standards.

``It not like buying some suit off the rack,'' he said. ``Customized  
textbooks mean additional costs. That's the trade-off.''

If the bill passes, California wouldn't be the first state whose  
textbook decisions dictate what districts pay or students read in  
schools hundreds of miles away. Other large states that adopt texts on  
a statewide level -- notably Texas -- have a huge influence.

Sometimes, Texas' books have been criticized for what's between the  
covers. This year, the Texas board of education decided to include the  
discussion of creationism alongside evolution in its science books,  
which prompted some other consumers of Texas-approved books to bristle.

But as major player in the textbook market, Texas also sets a maximum  
price for the books it buys, which is good news to schools and  
districts that buy books created originally for Texas.

``We have been dogmatic in holding the price down,'' said Alma Allen, a  
Texas state school board member. ``I would be glad to see California do  
that. Hopefully, lots of other states will follow.''

Bud Williams, a deputy superintendent of Montana's education  
department, said cost savings decided in Sacramento could mean more  
materials for that state's 150,000 students.

``Our budgets have gotten tighter and tighter,'' said Williams, whose  
districts choose their titles from publisher's catalogs that market  
some California-tailored books to other states. ``If textbook companies  
have to be mindful about cost, prices across the country will change.''

Several members of the Senate Education Committee who are poised to  
consider the bill are initially supportive.

``We have a limited budget,'' said Sen. Dede Alpert, D-San Diego. ``And  
if we aren't able to stretch those dollars, that would be a bad  
mistake.''

Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn, D-Campbell, noted that throughout debate in  
the Assembly there was strong backing of the bill.

``Publishers are taking advantage because no one is paying attention,''  
she said. ``We have to be more responsible. Taxpayers are demanding  
it.''

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/education/ 
8906685.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


---

Jason Barkeloo
President
TouchSmart Publishing
http://www.touchsmart.net
tele 513.225.8765


This electronic mail (email) communication, and any files transmitted  
with it, are confidential, and intended solely for the indicated  
recipient(s). Any review, use, or distribution by anyone other than the  
intended recipient(s) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this  
e-mail in error, or are not the
intended recipient, please notify the sender, and delete all copies
immediately.
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/enriched
Size: 6656 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/bridging_the_divide/attachments/20040614/c0409b7e/attachment-0001.bin