State Council warned of coming education battles in California

In the first meeting of the 2002-03 year, CTA President Wayne Johnson warned the 770-delegate State Council that they faced crucial times for public education in California, given the downturn in the state economy and the forthcoming state election that could have a dramatic impact on the future.

Although CTA has had its differences with the governor, Johnson implored Council to work for his re-election. "The next few years are going to be hard for public schools. Without our recommended candidates, it will be horrible. Vote your interest and re-elect Gray Davis.

"This year," Johnson said, "despite a $24 billion deficit, Gray Davis funded education with a 2 percent COLA, and full funding and a 2 percent COLA for all programs. The K-14 budget was increased by $3.3 billion dollars. Four hundred million dollars for instructional materials, $24 million for libraries, $217 million for low performing schools."

But Johnson also directed his comments to proposed legislation he'd like to have CTA develop.

"This year, CTA will be involved in many legislative battles in Sacramento," Johnson warned Council. Fights will occur over legislation that will be proposed by the Education Master Plan, some of which he says is intended to weaken the teacher collective bargaining law. "We have already put the author of the Master Plan report, Sen. Dede Alpert, and the legislature on notice of our opposition to any legislation along these lines," he said.

Johnson also promised more legislative battles over testing and professional rights of teachers. "It is time, past time, that we stand up for our professional rights as teachers. And it is time again that we stand up and fight to reform this standardized testing mess we have in California," he said.

Council calls voters on behalf of state, local measures

No strangers to political involvement, State Council members took time out of their schedule on Saturday afternoon to use the "phone bank in a box" - or cellular phones - to urge voters to vote for the passage of Prop. 47, the $13 billion state school bond and Prop. K, a local school bond measure in Los Angeles. More than 2,046 calls were made by members.

Ivins talks power and politics with State Council

Syndicated columnist and television commentator Molly Ivins had State Council members rolling in the aisle as she shared her particular perspective on politics during a dinner session Friday night.

Despite the pokes at President George W. Bush, the Texas Legislature, H. Ross Perot (pronounced pee-rot in Eastern Texas, she assured her audience), and others, Ivins observed everyone should pay attention to politics because "it is everything about our lives and it impinges on our lives every day in hundreds of ways - from how deep you will be buried, to the qualifications of the people who prescribe your eyeglasses...to the textbooks your children read in school."

"Even though our political system has been corrupted by money...the fact is that we still own this country! The people in Washington and Sacramento, are just the people that we hired to drive the bus for awhile, and they have to go where we tell them to," she said.

"If you take your vote and get five others to vote as well, you have leveraged your power, just like the people in Washington and Sacramento."

Doggett urges State Council to "Rock the Vote" for Prop. 47

Taking a few pages from a recent script from "The West Wing," CTA Executive Director Carolyn Doggett quoted the network TV drama's President Josiah Bartlett (played by actor Martin Sheen) to CTA's State Council of Education. In the teleplay, Bartlett is addressing NEA delegates at a meeting supposedly set in Michigan when he decries the number of people in the teaching profession. There aren't "enough teachers in our classrooms, and there isn't nearly enough, not nearly enough, not nearly enough money in our classrooms and we can do something about that," Bartlett says.

To which Doggett responds, "There's something wrong when a television writer can recognize things that the politicians cannot see or acknowledge. When we must fight every day to get funding enough to keep our students safe and our schoolrooms supplied with teachers and textbooks. And what is wrong can only be fixed when we make our voices heard – When we take up the cudgel and the banner and make sure that we get people out to vote in all the general elections every time!"

Doggett then urged State Council members to vote, and to get others to vote – particularly for Prop. 47, the state school bond that would provide $13 billion for school construction projects. Doggett noted that more than half of California's schools are more than 30 years old and that 1,200 schools must be built in the next few years to keep up with enrollment.

"The major weapon at hand in this battle for our students is Proposition 47," Doggett said.

To make sure that the proposition is passed, Doggett challenged State Council members to make up a list of friends and relatives, provide a list of CTA's recommended candidates, and get them to vote.

"Please get out there – and rock the vote!" Doggett implored.

Council hears from child health expert regarding new Healthy Families Program

Detailing a new partnership between CTA and the California Association of Health Plans to bring low-cost health insurance options to the state's neediest children was Robert Ross, M.D. Ross also thanked CTA for its involvement in the state Healthy Families program in his remarks Saturday morning.

"There are roughly one to 1.5 million uninsured kids in California," he said. "Close to 75 percent of those are eligible for an existing program and are not enrolled."

Children who have undetected hearing problems, vision problems, asthma, lead poisoning and other afflictions could easily benefit from such a program, Ross said, yet the State of California is about to send back $700 million in unused federal tax money because the word hadn't gotten out adequately.

To remedy the situation, the California Endowment, a private, statewide health program headed by Ross, has provided a $547,000 grant to tell teachers about the health insurance programs available to low-income kids and their families and to help them reach out to those students. Materials have already been distributed.

But the grant is just one part of the program. Currently, the California Endowment is also going to pilot an "Express Lane Eligibility" program in several counties (Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno and Santa Cruz) to see if the process can be expedited. One part of the program will include matching up students on the federal Free and Reduced Lunch plan with MediCal and Healthy Families insurance programs. Once it is shown to work, the program will be taken statewide.

"This is something that is fixable, it is doable now, and we can do this, but we desperately need the support of schools and the California Teachers Association," Ross explained.

National Teacher of the Year Chauncey Veatch has an emotional impact on State Council

Chauncey Veatch, a Californian who was selected as National Teacher of the Year 2002-03, gave an emotional account before Council of his experiences teaching immigrant students in Coachella Valley High School in Thermal, Calif.

In an address Saturday morning, Veatch related how surprised he was to be selected for the national honor after having only seven years teaching experience.

"I can truthfully tell you, that my students taught me everything that was important about being a teacher," he said.

Having retired after 22-years as an officer in the U.S. Army Infantry, Veatch came to teaching as a second career, taking three years to earn his credential while he was on the job. Noting he began his military career in 1968, in grim times, he said, "We again face grim times, but as I say in every state I visit, we show our value in the tough times, not the easy times. I can say that in a democracy, there is no job, no career that is more patriotic, than to be a teacher."

Veatch is using his role as National Teacher of the Year to try to improve services for migrant students around the country — even in areas where his hosts didn't think they had migrant populations.

Through his visit, North Carolina, for example, has decided to host a conference about migrant students. Veatch will soon visit Baton Rouge, La., where he said many white families have fled the public school system, leaving a large African American and immigrant student population.

"I will talk about how wonderful, how great, how successful, how valuable, how priceless our public education system is," he said.

"It is with pride, that I have insisted we understand the great diversity and the richness of the contributions of those who come from many locales," he said.

State Council takes action

Author of the Class Size Reduction legislation State Sen. Jack O'Connell appeared Sunday morning to urge Council to support his bid to become Superintendent of Public Instruction on Nov. 5

"It's an election some pundits say will be a low turnout. Well, if it's a low turnout, we must work to make sure it's the correct turn-out," he said.

Council also requested that President Wayne Johnson send a letter on behalf of CTA to the president of the California State Board of Education urging the board to declare a moratorium on the High School Exit Exam. The recommendation from the Civil Rights in Education Committee reasoned that with 70 percent of African American and Latino students failing to pass the exam, the board should declare a moratorium to allow alternatives to the exam to be explored.

The Council also recommended that CTA pursue legislation to amend the high school exit exam to remove it as the sole condition for graduation. Council also recommended that CTA develop legislation to amend the Public School Accountability Act to remove the sanctions and rewards components. Another Tier 1 (highest priority) piece of legislation the Council recommended for development is that all part-time faculty and contract employees of community college districts be guaranteed due process rights.

In other action, State Council:

• Approved a resolution of support from the San Diego Education Association condemning the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Chairperson and Superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District Alan Bersin for undermining the learning environment in San Diego's public schools.
• Approved a recommendation from the Political Involvement Committee that CTA increase funding in support of Proposition 47, from the CTA Initiative Fund.
• Approved a letter of support to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in their dispute with the Pacific Maritime Association and stating CTA's opposition to the imposition of the anti-labor Taft-Hartley Act.