Learning Matters

Containing the award-winning 2004 documentary First to Worst, as well as its 2008 follow-up, California Schools, this set provides comprehensive coverage of California's education crisis.

First to Worst (2004) explores the roots of California’s current education crisis, tracing it to the anti-tax movement of the 1970’s and 80’s and to civil rights lawsuits that aimed to equalize school spending but resulted instead in disastrous funding limits on schools. The documentary pays special attention to the effects of Proposition 13, the 1978 anti-tax law (still in effect) that froze property taxes on businesses and homes and, critics say, cut funding for public schools off at the knees.

Aired: 4-30-04 / Runtime: 56 minutes

In California Schools: America's Future (2008), we follow up on the state's education crisis. In 2007, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his intention to make 2008 “the year of education in California.” However, schools were worse off than ever. The governor scrambled to avoid $4.8 billion in potential cuts to public school funding. His controversial plans—more borrowing, an expanded lottery, and a possible tax hike—hinged on lawmakers’ approval. In this program, we trace the roots of the ongoing crisis.

Aired: 6-5-08 / Runtime: 56 min