CTA | Inside CTA

In the first State Council since CTA's victory over the Governor's Special Election agenda in November, CTA President Barbara Kerr saluted Council representatives for their hard work.

"All of you in this room helped make that Special Election victory happen… and more importantly, protected Proposition 98 and future education funding for our students and schools. You protected the professional rights of teachers. And you told anti-union millionaires and their big-business, special interest pals there's no way you are going to silence our voices."

Kerr noted that it was CTA members and staff who led the fight against the governor from the beginning, as well as helped organize a committed coalition of labor unions, education groups and community organizations.

"We were working with firefighters, police officers and nurses – some people we had never worked with before – and we were all working together. These local and state coalitions are the most significant outcome of this campaign," she said.

"The reality is that we won," Kerr said, "but we didn't win the kind of improvements that we all want to see for ourselves and for our students."

Specifically, Kerr noted that the new proposed state budget continues to shortchange schools by $3 billion, and reduces Proposition 98 in order to fund his after-school programs in Proposition 49, in violation of the law.

Kerr addressed the need for CTA to push for meaningful change. Among those changes are recommendations from CTA's Educational Change Workgroup. Those recommendations include: bringing equity to school funding so that funds are distributed to schools based on the needs of students and not the wealth of the school district; providing teachers with quality salaries that are equivalent to salaries of other professionals; improving teacher preparation programs; assisting lower-performing schools; and developing a testing system aimed at improving instruction and not punishing students.

The State Council of Education pledged its support for reforms designed to boost student achievement and promised to continue to fight for them in the Legislature and at the ballot box.

Among those reforms is the recommendation to support actor/director Rob Reiner's Preschool for All Initiative. In making the motion, Political Involvement Committee Chair Harry Keiley, president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association said, "People are looking to us for what we stand for: a positive, proactive and progressive agenda. This is exactly what the initiative does. Preschool for All is the single most important investment of funding provided by the wealthiest citizens to help those of greatest need."

By supporting the preschool initiative, CTA reaffirmed its commitment to early childhood education. The measure, which has qualified for the June primary ballot, would raise $2.4 billion per year by the time it takes full effect, and would allow all California parents the option of having their children attend state-funded preschool. "This is an important initiative because it would give all children the opportunity to go to preschool," Barbara E. Kerr, said. "And research supports what teachers have known all along: That students who go to quality preschools come to school ready to learn, do better in school and are more likely to graduate high school and go to college."

Council also passed a set of principles for CTA to follow when advocating for education funding in the state budget. Council reaffirmed its stand that the Proposition 98 funding guarantee for education is a minimum, and not a maximum, level of funding. The Council called for full funding of the Proposition 98 constitutional guarantee for the current year and the budget year of 2006-07.

A number of candidates for state and congressional races will be recommended by CTA this year, including State Treasurer Phil Angelides who is running for governor against Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"Phil Angelides has a commitment to fully fund Proposition 98, which he sees as a floor, not a ceiling," said CTA President Barbara E. Kerr. "He believes getting to the national average in per-pupil funding is not enough and that California should once again be at the top in the resources we give our students."

CTA's State Council of Education also voted to support State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell for re-election to his current seat. "Jack O'Connell has been a fierce advocate for public education, kids and teachers for many years," said Kerr. "Not only did he stand side-by-side with us during the special election, he has fought for education funding, authoring the legislation that implemented Proposition 98 and class size reduction, and he has been at the forefront of ensuring that California schools have high standards and that our students meet them."

Other candidates who will receive CTA support are: John Garamendi for lieutenant governor; Rocky Delgadillo for attorney general; Bill Lockyer for treasurer; Cruz Bustamante for insurance commissioner; Betty Yee for Board of Equalization, seat 1; and Judy Chu for Board of Equalization, seat 4. Council remained neutral in the state controller's race since there are three friends of education among the four candidates. It will make a recommendation after the primary. In addition, Council postponed an endorsement in the Secretary of State race until March. Council also made recommendation for friendly incumbents running for 54 seats in Congress and the state Legislature in the June primary.

Let's keep up the momentum, Doggett says

As CTA looks to Campaign 2006, Executive Director Carolyn Doggett's fervent hope is that the association continues to build on its success in the recent Special Election.

"One of the great things about this past election is that it showed that unions and working families really do matter in this state," Doggett said Sunday morning.

"We have demonstrated to the world our commitment, our tenacity and our toughness. These things make me proud and they make me hopeful about the future. But we have to keep going because the challenges we face are tremendous. And I don't just mean the challenges we face in the classroom. We are teachers, we are ESP, we are counselors, we are college professors and instructors, we are nurses, of course, but we are also members of two of the most threatened species in the world: middle class American workers and members of a union," she said.

"Our victory in California could be a first step in the resurgence of unions, not just in California, but nationally. That is important because unions have been on the decline and that is a big reason for the poor state of working families," Doggett said.

CTA must be proactive as it moves into Campaign 2006, otherwise politicians like the governor will continue to define us, according to Doggett.

"How we use or misuse the momentum we have gained in the special election campaign over the next few years will determine whether this election was the great victory that it appears or just a blip in the history of California politics. I don't want to be just a blip and I don't think you do either. So let's use the momentum we gained to energize us for the hard tasks ahead."