It’s election season. Citizens looking for questions to ask of candidates or state officials might consider the following two:
- According to CalMatters: “The cost of imprisoning one person in California has increased by more than 90% in the past decade, reaching a record-breaking $132,860 annually, according to state finance documents.” Is it true that if California spent no more than the national average of $45,771 per inmate, that could free up more than $7 billion for UC and CSU?
- According to the Nation’s Report Card, 4th and 8th grade math students in Texas and Florida performed better than 4th and 8th grade math students in California:
![](https://i0.wp.com/governforcalifornia715476687.wpcomstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022_grade_4_mathematics_average_scale_scores.png?resize=1024%2C733&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/governforcalifornia715476687.wpcomstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022_grade_8_mathematics_average_scale_scores.png?resize=1024%2C676&ssl=1)
Why is that?