Good Morning and Happy New Year. It's so good to see all of you again.

 

I hope you all had a good holiday break and were able to get a little rest away from your classrooms, because 2004 is going to be anything but restful.

 

When I first became president I told you that I was committed to building strong local chapters, because strong local chapters build a strong CTA.  I also said that our strength comes from the diversity of our membership.

 

I tell you today, that because of you and all our diversity, CTA is strong.  Because of you, CTA again proved its political leadership in Sacramento. And because of you, CTA will set the agenda for public education in 2004.

 

All of this is a good thing.  But it is also the price we pay for leadership.

 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." These words are true today – challenge and controversy are ours.

 

Earlier this month, I joined with Governor Schwarzenegger and other education groups to announce a state budget proposal that protects core funding for our students and schools.  There's still a lot of work ahead of us, but it was the strength of CTA, our 1,000 local chapters and 335,000 members that led to this proposal.

 

Part of our diversity is our political diversity. Like the California electorate, we are Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Libertarians and Independents. Some members were very upset that we took a position against the recall last year.  I received a quite a few letters that said the recall would kill us politically. And after Arnold Schwarzenegger won, I received even more letters, telling me: "I told you so," "CTA is doomed," CTA is washed up in politics." I don't think so.
 

Shortly after Governor Schwarzenegger was sworn into office, he called us to get our input. I talked to him about what was important to our members. I talked to him about how the "joy of teaching and learning" was being sucked from our classrooms and replaced with assembly-line instruction and mandated tests. I talked to him about listening to teachers and working with us to improve our schools.

 

He told us the state was $15 billion in the hole. He said he wanted to work with teachers to make sure students and schools were protected, but he needed to save $2 billion in education spending to deal with the overall budget problem.

 

Two billion dollars sounds like a lot of money – and it is – but remember, that given the current deficit, education could have faced a cut of up to $6 billion. In fact, some members of the Legislature were already headed in that direction and were calling for a full suspension of Proposition 98 which would open everything up to grab and take.

 

I want to commend Governor Schwarzenegger for coming to us FIRST and asking for our input.  It shouldn't be a novel idea, but it hasn't happened in a long time. And he gets a lot of credit from me for that. I believe that it shows that he values the work we do in our classrooms and the important role we play in the process.

 

I knew we would have to compromise to get a budget proposal, but I also knew we would not capitulate.  We kept our core values always in mind: protect our students, protect teachers and save our public schools.

 

There are those who say we are abandoning our larger agenda.  I say we kept our core values and we will fight for them.

First, under this budget proposal, there will be NO devastating midyear cuts this year.  This means the local budgets approved last year will hold strong. Districts should not be looking for take-backs or threatening teacher layoffs.  That doesn't mean they won't try…that's what they do.

 

Second, education funding for the 2004-05 budget is increased by $2 billion.  That is about half of what our schools are owed under Proposition 98, but it means:

 

· All funding levels for our schools this year are carried over to next year. And added to those funding levels are full cost of living adjustments on ALL programs and full funding for enrollment growth for K-12 schools and community colleges.

 

· It also restores $200 million cut from our community colleges last year.

 

· This budget agreement protects the integrity of Prop. 98 and guarantees that all money must be repaid in subsequent budget years.  The first part of that repayment guarantee starts in 2004-2005, with more than $270 million dollars of outstanding debt being repaid to our schools.

 

· It provides cost of living increases for all categorical programs and fully funds Class Size Reduction, special education and programs to help our schools of greatest need.

 

And finally, the proposal includes a plan to reconcile all outstanding money owed to our public schools under Prop. 98.  What does this mean?  Every year the education budget has to be reconciled to see if we are owed more money.  This has not been done since 1994. That means they will go back through the last 10 years and make good on any money owed to our schools, but has not been paid.  Those payments will begin in 2006 and are estimated to be more than $1 billion.

 

As I said, details are still being worked out and that there will be some pain and sacrifice by our teachers and students.
 
The price of leadership means you can't sit on the sidelines and just yell from the bleachers.

 

We are going to have to educate our members about this agreement and we are going to have to sell the principles of this agreement to our local lawmakers.  We are going to have to work with the Legislature and the Governor to get this education budget passed.

 

Our first opportunity will be on January 28, when our Chapter Presidents come to Sacramento for Lobby Day.  I know that it's time away from your classrooms and students, but I encourage all of the local presidents here today to join us.

 

It was your local voices that made the difference in the budget battle last year, and your local voices must be heard again.

 

The price of leadership doesn't stop there. In order to get our schools the resources they really need, we are going to have to raise new revenues.

 

This State Council wisely voted to file a statewide initiative that will bring substantial new resources to our schools and provide voluntary universal preschool to all kids the year before they enter kindergarten.

 

Now, we must show our collective strength and collect the signatures needed to get this initiative on the November ballot.  We need one million signatures by April 7.

 

As you know, the Improving Classroom Education Action will provide more than $4.5 billion in new funding for education that will go directly into our classrooms. 

 

The money for K-12 schools can only be used for class size reduction, increasing teacher salaries and benefits, providing teacher training, and buying textbooks and instructional materials. None of the money can be wasted on administrative bureaucracy or overhead.

 

One-third of the funds raised in this initiative will go to provide voluntary, universal preschool. As a kindergarten teacher, I can vouch for all the research that shows providing quality preschool helps students throughout their education. They are more likely to graduate from high school and go on to college.
 
The initiative is funded by an increase in the commercial property tax rate from 1% to 1.55%.  It does not raise property taxes for California homeowners.

 

Passing an initiative that raises taxes will not be easy, but it is the right thing to do. Our students and schools can't wait any longer.  And California voters agree.  According to our polling:

 

· 62% of Californians believe schools do not have the resources they need to provide a quality education.

 

· There is strong support from the public to raise taxes to support public schools with nearly two-to-one wanting to increase taxes to prevent cuts in school programs.

 

· Voters are willing to pay more to support their public schools with over 57% of the public saying they would raise their own taxes to invest in education. 

 

· And more than two-thirds of California voters support the idea of increasing commercial property taxes to increase funding for schools when they know the money will be spent to reduce class size, increase teacher salaries and training, purchase textbooks and materials and provide voluntary universal preschool.

 

We are asking every CTA member to get two signatures. That's your name and the signature of one other registered voter. I know you can do this.

 

Petitions are available here at Council. In addition, within the next two weeks, petitions will be mailed directly to your homes.

 

Take the time to fill out the petition. Get more than two signatures. Circulate it in your neighborhood. Remind your colleagues to turn in their petitions.

 

Working together, we can do anything.

 

It seems like we just had an election – oh, wait we did.  But there will be another one on March 2.

 

I can't tell you how important this election is to our public schools.   I know that a lot of our members are still uncomfortable with us being involved in elections.  Unfortunately, that is also the price of leadership.  Once again, we cannot sit on the sidelines.

 

First, we must vote for, and tell everyone to vote for, Proposition 55, the $12 billion statewide school bond.

 

Proposition 55 will provide the rest of the money needed to help local districts and colleges repair rundown schools and build new classrooms to relieve overcrowding.

 

We still have more than a million students attending schools with bathrooms that don't work and ceilings that leak.

 

We still need 22,000 new classrooms to reduce overcrowding and reduce class sizes.

 

Recent polling shows that support for this initiative has dropped. We must remind parents and voters how important clean, safe schools are to improving student achievement.  Vote yes on Proposition 55.

 

The Budget Accountability Act is equally important.  In fact, this initiative would be the first step to reforming our state budget process.

 

Proposition 56 reduces the two-thirds vote requirement to pass the state budget to 55 percent. It would also force the Legislature to pass the budget on time, by withholding the salaries of lawmakers for every day the budget is late.

 

And finally, we must get out and vote for former Vermont Governor Howard Dean in the presidential primary. 

 

California may very well be the deciding state in this election. And Governor Dean is our best hope for changing some of the ridiculous and cumbersome provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. 

 

A new CTA radio commercial started this week. In the ad, I talk about how the federal government is forcing a one-size-fits all approach to education on our students. When we know that not every child learns in the same way or at the same rate. Howard Dean believes quality education starts with teachers – not more tests and paperwork. He believes, as I do, that our schools need more resources – not more red tape.

He supports full federal funding of Special Education, and he believes all children should have adequate health care.

 

Encourage friends and neighbors to vote for Howard Dean on March 2.

 

I know there will be times that all of this seems overwhelming.  There is much to be done in 2004.  But I also know that if we work together, embrace our diversity, and continue to build strong local chapters we will meet these challenges.

 

In closing, I again hear the words of the great Dr. King: "Our lives begin to end, the day we become silent about things that matter."

 

The price of leadership means we cannot be silent.  The price of leadership means we must act now for the future of our students, the future of public education and the future of our state.