Teachers in California are understandably upset with the governor for pursuing a political agenda that hurts public schools, students and teachers, but Republican teachers are especially disappointed.

 

"After Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected, teachers looked forward to a new way of doing business in Sacramento. He was someone we thought we knew well and would work with teachers to improve our schools," says Ron Edwards, a member of the Riverbank Teachers Association (Stanislaus County) and chair of the CTA Republican Caucus.

 

Unfortunately, that didn't come to pass. "The governor has become just another politician who breaks his promises, like the promise he broke to pay back the $2 billion he borrowed from our schools," says Edwards. "His wealthy corporate backers seem to be calling the shots. As Republicans, we believe he has crossed the line and we can't trust him anymore."

 

Edwards is one of several Republican educators from the Central Valley and Southern California who are speaking out in opposition to the initiatives the governor has placed on the Nov. 8 ballot, especially Propositions 74, 75 and 76.

 

"As Republicans, we may not always agree on the candidate endorsements that CTA makes, but we are very united on why these deceptive measures must be defeated," says Edwards. "And as Republicans, we resent this governor's deceptive attempts to stop CTA from spending our dues to keep our public schools improving."

 

"Propositions 74, 75 and 76 are an attack on public education and public school teachers," says Upland Teachers Association President Andy Megaw, who supported the governor "until January, when he reneged on his promise" to restore the money he borrowed from schools.

 

Now he's tired of the stream of initiatives that are coming before California voters, and recently asked his state senator, "What's the point of having a Legislature if we're just going to go over their heads and pass initiatives?"

 

Shawna Adam, a member of the Hacienda-La Puente Teachers Association (Orange County) and chair of NEA's Republican Caucus, says she was ecstatic when Schwarzenegger first came before CTA's State Council of Education in the spring of 2002. At the time, he was touting his after-school initiative, which was approved by voters but never activated due to the state's funding crisis. "I was excited that he wanted to work with us. But now I'm disappointed at how far downhill he's gone. Things have gone kaput."

 

A number of things about the governor's agenda rankle Adam, but high on the list is the money being squandered on the Nov. 8 special election. "I believe the public is being suckered into holding a costly, unnecessary election that is pitting Republicans against Democrats with our students' education losing out in the process."

 

She's also upset by the governor's now open support for Prop. 75, which would make it difficult for unions to use their dues money for political purposes. Although it's masquerading as an employee rights measure, "it's all lies," says Adam. "The truth is, we already have a choice as to how our money is to be used. The union supports me and I expect my money to be used for political purposes."

 

"Many of us want to focus on our classrooms. We rely on our union to speak for us," says Heidi S. Chipman, a member of the Association of Placentia-Linda Educators (Orange County). "Prop. 75 would take away our voice in Sacramento, and that would be a loss for teachers and for students."

 

"The hidden agenda in Prop. 75 is to silence all of us who oppose the governor's bad ideas for the state," she says. "It makes it harder for unions to spend our dues on improving and protecting the state."

 

If the political voices of teachers, nurses, firefighters and police are unfairly restricted, asks Linda Kraus, "who will protect education, health care and public safety?"

 

The president of the Oakdale Teachers Association (Stanislaus County), Kraus says she and many of her friends are Republican teachers. "We all support how CTA fights for teachers and students with our union dues."

 

She's proud of the fact that CTA led the fight to reduce class sizes and to pass Prop. 98, which guarantees a minimum level of funding for public schools. "CTA also worked with local teachers to pass countless local and statewide school bonds and parcel taxes that have built new schools across California."

 

To demonstrate how Prop. 75 would change the political landscape if it passed, Republican teachers held news conferences Sept. 28 at schools that had been built or renovated with bond money that CTA and local teachers helped win for them. In Buena Park (Orange County), news conference participants sweltered in 100-degree-plus heat, but the students inside were learning in a comfortable air-conditioned environment, thanks to bond money.

 

The governor's agenda would make it harder for CTA and local teachers to effectively campaign for such improvements.

 

Republican teachers are just as intense about their opposition to other parts of the governor's agenda. Kathy McDonell, a member of the Fresno Teachers Association, says Prop. 74 is misleading, misguided and too extreme. "It blames teachers for the problems in our schools and does nothing to address the real problems our Central Valley schools face, like underfunding and overcrowding."

 

If it passes, teachers could be fired without even being given a chance to defend themselves, she adds. "It's totally unnecessary. There's already a system in place to fire teachers who are not performing in the classroom."

 

Nor is there any evidence that lengthening the probation period will have a positive impact on teacher quality or student achievement, she says. Instead of blaming teachers, the governor should focus on proven reforms such as providing mentoring programs and quality training for new teachers and otherwise making it easier to recruit and retain teachers.

 

Davina Keiser, a member of the Teachers Association of Long Beach, made the teachers' case as often as possible at the Republican State Convention. "I talked about how Prop. 74 is unnecessary, unfair and ineffective. But what I really emphasized is the increased costs to implement it. We should be putting more money directly into the classroom and cutting out excess at the top," she says, observing that that's an argument Republicans can understand.

 

"At a time when many teachers in my school district have to buy their own supplies, and many programs have been cut, I do not understand why the governor wants to have a special election to give him the power to slash school funding even more," says Patty Roberts, a member of the Fresno Teachers Association.

 

By overturning the voter-approved Prop. 98 and eliminating the funding guarantees for education, Prop. 76 does even more damage to schools: It will lead to more overcrowded schools, teacher layoffs, and fewer textbooks and classroom materials.

 

"We feel that the governor is hiding his true agenda from the voters of the Central Valley and across the state," says Edwards. "We are here to tell the governor to stop trying to pit teacher against teacher and Republican against Democrat, and to stop playing politics with our schools."