California’s governor candidates have different education visions: Division over education funding and social issues, teacher accountability and transgender athletes

According to the latest California Democratic Party Voter Index Survey, Republican Steve Hilton, a political commentator and former adviser to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, is the front-runner in the race. He is closely followed by Republican Chad Bianco, Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner; and Democrats Tom Steyer, a billionaire investor; Xavier Becerra, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services; and Katie Porter, a former congressional representative.

Polling with 4% or less of support are Democrats Matt Mahan, San Jose mayor; Antonio Villaraigosa, former Los Angeles mayor; and Tony Thurmond, California state superintendent of public instruction.

Democrat Eric Swalwell, former U.S. Representative for California’s 14th congressional district, was once a front-runner, but dropped out of the race on April 12 because of allegations of sexual misconduct. 

In total, 61 candidates are competing in the June 2 primary. The two top vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.

Student achievement is on every agenda

All the major candidates agree on one point: student test scores are too low. According to state data, 49% of California students met proficiency standards in English language arts, 37.3% in math and 32.7% in science last year. 

“These results should be a five-alarm fire in our state,” Mahan, a former middle school English and history teacher, told EdSource in a survey. “Too many California students are not meeting basic benchmarks in reading and math, which has long-term consequences for them socially and economically, and for our entire society.”

Mahan said he would invest in high-dosage tutoring for students who are behind, and would ensure districts are accountable for adopting evidence-based literacy curricula. At a CBS gubernatorial debate on Tuesday, Mahan said teachers should be rewarded if their students improve academically, while teachers whose students falter academically should be provided with additional coaching and training.

Hilton has said he will hold teachers accountable for student performance by rewarding the best and firing the worst. He has also advocated for keeping students back in third grade until they can read. 

“The failure of our government-run schools is an outrageous scandal that we cannot tolerate any longer,” Hilton said in a statement on his website. “That means taking on the ideologues and activists who have removed accountability for teachers and lowered expectations for students.” 

Bianco has proposed expanding career technical education and high-performing charter schools; increasing the focus on reading, writing, math and science; increasing funding for teacher training and recruitment; promoting mental health supports; and ensuring all schools have an assigned law enforcement officer.

Thurmond said he would launch a five-year plan that would ensure that every student in the state can read by third grade. He would also make kindergarten mandatory and offer career training programs.

“For all 57 years of my life, we’ve been talking about closing the achievement gap,” Thurmond said during a gubernatorial forum in February hosted by the Black Action Alliance and KTVU Fox 2. “You know, if we can send a person to the moon, we can close the achievement gap. We have to have the political will to do it and then back it up. It’s not an achievement gap — our kids can achieve, but there are barriers in their way, and we have to remove those barriers.”

No agreement on need for more funding

Education funding is a priority for many Californians, according to a PPIC survey. Thirty-seven percent of survey respondents said K-12 education should be the highest priority for state government spending. Six percent of those surveyed said it should be higher education.

Candidates are divided on how they would approach funding. Some Democrats have proposed increasing funding to schools by increasing taxes on billionaires and corporations, while the two Republican candidates say schools don’t need more funding and should cut wasteful spending.

Steyer has proposed investing more money in public schools and increasing teacher pay to help recruit and retain them. He says he’ll generate up to $50 billion in new revenue by raising taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals, with funds split between health care and education. 

During the CBS debate earlier this week, Thurmond addressed the funding crisis that has been created for school districts because of declining enrollment. 

“What folks aren’t saying on this stage is the biggest challenge for our schools is declining enrollment,” Thurmond said. “Schools get their revenue based on attendance, OK. And we’re one of only six states in the nation that still gives revenue based on average daily attendance. We have to move to an enrollment system as we recognize that schools are losing revenue.”

Affordable college a priority for some

For a student in the University of California system, the total annual cost — including tuition, school fees, housing, food and other living expenses — is about $47,000. At California State University, total costs range from $26,000 and $37,000.  

If elected, Steyer would like to make education free from universal preschool at age 3 to community college in California, while Porter proposes making state universities tuition-free for California residents by raising corporate taxes. 

“For more than 100 years, California students didn’t pay even 1 cent for tuition,” Porter said. “That was the promise California made to its taxpayers, that changed under Ronald Reagan before he sold our country on trickle-down economics. He sold out California students by charging our first tuition fees that turned the public right to a higher education into a private burden on families.”

Villaraigosa does not promise free tuition. Instead, he says he would expand financial aid, increase dual-enrollment opportunities for high school students taking college courses, grow career technical education programs and make it easier to transfer from community colleges to four-year universities, according to a survey returned to EdSource.

Culture wars on full display

Changing state policies that prohibit parental notification when students indicate they may be transgender, and allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports are top priorities for Bianco.

“After I am elected governor, you will never have to worry about boys in your locker room, boys in your restroom or having to compete against boys in athletics,” Bianco said in an Instagram post. “Until then, we will continue doing everything we can to keep you safe as we fight against this insanity. Stay strong.”

Bianco also opposes phasing out gas-powered school buses and says he will remove vaccination requirements to attend schools. 

Despite the governor’s power to develop a state budget and seat officials in state agencies and commissions, these promises, as well as Hilton’s promise to make teachers more accountable, may be difficult to achieve in a state where Democrats have a veto-proof supermajority in both houses.

Thurmond has said he will identify new tax revenue by closing tax loopholes and taxing billionaires to provide more funding for education and health care. He also said he will fight to keep immigration officers out of schools, a popular sentiment in California.

Are they talking about the right things?

Lupita Cortez Alcalá, executive director of Stanford-based research center Policy Analysis for California, said she wants candidates to discuss chronic absenteeism, declining enrollment and teacher shortages. Alcalá described chronic absenteeism — defined as being absent for 10% of the school year — as “a system-level crisis,” noting it reached 19.4% in 2024.  

She also said candidates should address reports that half of California’s teachers are considering leaving the profession, as well as the budget cuts and school closures that districts are facing because of declining enrollment.

“If 50% of teachers are leaving the profession, we are going to have a major problem,” she said.

Governor’s role could change

The election is particularly important to schools this year because the next governor may have an enhanced role in education, if legislators agree to move control of the California Department of Education to the governor’s office.

Alcalá said placing the CDE under the governor’s office would allow state leaders to better align timelines, infrastructure needs and capacity to ensure equitable implementation when investing in initiatives and signing education policies. PACE co-authored a report calling for the change.

“I think the connection to implementation at the Department of Education and through all these systems of support, like county offices of education, the California Collaborative for Educator Excellence and even the universities … really needs to be better streamlined and aligned because our education system is highly fragmented,” Alcalá said.

Unions choose their candidates

California’s largest education unions had lined up behind Swalwell, but withdrew their support after allegations of sexual misconduct emerged. Now, the California Teachers Association has recommended Steyer. The Service Employees International Union, which represents 750,000 workers — including school employees — across the state, has not announced a new endorsement.

Steyer had already secured endorsements from several other unions representing teachers and school staff, including the California Federation of Teachers, the California School Employees Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. 

The California Faculty Association has split its endorsement between Becerra and Thurmond. 

Porter and Villaraigosa also have a fair share of union support, with both of their websites claiming support from the California Federation of Labor Unions.

President Donald Trump gave his endorsement to Hilton, calling him “a truly fine man” who can turn the state around. 

Together, the candidates had received about $168 million in campaign contributions by April 18, but most of it — $133.9 million — is in the coffers of the Steyer campaign. The main donor was Steyer himself, who contributed $133.7 million. 

Along with individual donors, candidates reported contributions from businesses and unions, but few with ties to education.

Diana Lambert is based in Sacramento and among other topics writes about teachers and teaching in California. EdSource, an independent nonprofit organization founded in 1977, is dedicated to providing analysis on key education issues facing the state and nation. Go to edsource.org to learn more.