On the heels of a major victory at the polls in which voters approved Prop. 55, a $12 billion statewide bond measure, CTA President Barbara E. Kerr reminded State Council that CTA's greatest challenge is to provide the resources that students and members need. 

 

Citing a recent documentary on California's public schools, "From First to Worst," which aired on public television stations, Kerr emphasized that California is failing its students and public schools financially. Citing the program, Kerr noted that California pays an average of $27,000 a year to support one prisoner, but just over $7,000 a year to support one student. Many of the state's schools are overcrowded with schools like Helms Middle School in San Pablo enrolling 1,400 students in a facility built for 800. Santa Ana in Southern California has several elementary schools with an enrollment of 4,000 students each on multi-track, year-round schedules. While California used to set the standard for innovation and creativity, it's now hard to find an art class, music or drama programs, or counselors, nurses and librarians, she said.

 

"We have a responsibility to do more. We have a responsibility to our students and to their future. We have a responsibility to ourselves," she said.

 

CTA and children's advocate Rob Reiner are co-sponsoring the Improving Classroom Education Act.  By raising the tax on commercial property from 1 to 1.55 percent, the initiative will raise more than $6 billion for public schools - money that can only be spent in classrooms and providing quality preschool for all kids before they start kindergarten. The initiative protects homeowners and includes a tax break for small businesses.

 

 

The Alhambra Teachers Association was honored by State Council Saturday morning as the recipient of the Jose Colmenares Memorial Award.

 

The Colmenares Award recognizes outstanding overall contributions to communications with teachers and the community. In its project, the association set out to expose the problems of America's Choice, a top-down program adopted by three of the district's schools.

 

Through a series of bulletins, the association organized its members and persuaded the district to return to a more collaborative relationship between teachers and administrators. Larry Weiner accepted the award on behalf of the association.

 

Also greeted with enthusiasm at Council was Nancy Bukowski, who this year was selected as School Nurse of the Year by the California School Nurses Organization. An active member of the Sacramento City Teachers Association, Bukowski implored Council and CTA to support school nurses, whose jobs have been drastically cut over the past few years.

 

Bukowski reminded Council that school nurses today are doing far more than providing bandages and a cot where children can rest. Instead, they are working to prevent chronic diseases from entering the classroom, administering to children with serious conditions and trying to make sure that every child comes to school healthy. "I want you to be able to teach these students and not have to deal with their diabetes and asthma," she said.

 

Elections were also on this council's agenda. Elected by waiving the ballot were: CTA Board of Directors Pixie Hayward Schickele (Dist. C); Larry Carlin, (Dist. D); Dian Dolores Hasson (Dist. J-HE); Daniel R. Vaughn (Dist. L); and Mikki Cichocki, (Dist. O). Board member Dianne K. Jones will face Linda Pierce in an upcoming election while candidates for the CTA/NEA Coordinating Director Diana Garchow and Eric C. Heins will both be on the ballot at the June Council meeting. Running for NEA Alternate Director will be Mimi Anderson, Carol Mathews and Greg Bonaccorsi.

 

Also elected by waiving the ballot were ABC (CTA's political action committee) members Marc Sternberger(Dist. C); Ron Edwards (Dist. D); Chaumonde Porterfield-Pyatt (Dist. J-HE); Donald Bridge (Dist. K); Margie Garrett (Dist. L); Jim Groth (Dist. P), and Antonio Mendoza (Dist. A/L).

 

Council recommended the election of Becky Pringle and Michael Marks to the NEA Executive Committee.

 

Council also called for sanctions against the Lynwood Unified School District for creating an unsafe and unfriendly environment for teachers.

 

In addition volunteers fanned out to two shopping centers Saturday afternoon to collect more than 1,000 signatures on petitions for the Improving Classroom Education Act.

 

 

Executive Director Carolyn Doggett, an avid gardener herself, compared CTA to a garden in her remarks to Council Sunday morning. The chapters are the roots and the state organization is like the trunk of a tree. "Neither can exist and be strong without the other," she said.

 

Both the state organization and local chapters were key in getting Proposition 98 passed, Class Size Reduction approved, and bringing thousands of teachers to Sacramento in 2002 to lobby for more money in the education budget - which they won.

 

"All this would not have been possible without both a strong state organization and strong local chapters," she said.

 

Doggett also credited CTA and its chapters with starting an opposition movement to the federal No Child Left Behind Act that has resulted in changes to the law. 

 

 "The movement and the 'roar' against this misguided law are growing louder every day. And it started right here in CTA," Doggett said.

 

"Every day there are stories in the news about how the federal mandates will limit classroom ingenuity," she said. 

 

Even state Superintendent Jack O'Connell has jumped on the bandwagon with 13 other state education leaders to demand more flexibility for individual states in interpreting the law.  

 

As a result of the opposition, the law has been changed three times in the last four months, with the most recent change making it easier for rural teachers who teach more than one subject to become ESEA compliant. New changes will also broaden the requirements for science teachers to come into compliance with the law. The current changes alone will affect 1,400 school sites and 25,000 members in California, Doggett said.