SACRAMENTO - The California Teachers Association (CTA) and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), along with the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) today charged that State Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Katherine Smith is misrepresenting her qualifications, and called upon the candidate to stop calling herself a teacher. The groups which represent more than 450,000 teachers, college professors and school administrators say Smith, who does not hold a teaching credential, is overstating her experience in the classroom in an effort to sway California voters.
"It's disappointing that the person who wants to lead education policy and reform in this state fails to understand the importance of having a credentialed teacher in the classroom," said Wayne Johnson, president of the 335,000-member CTA. "Teachers work very hard to earn their credential and that title should not be exploited for political purposes. Let's be perfectly clear, there's only one classroom teacher in this race, and that's state Senator Jack O'Connell."
"You can't be a teacher in California if you have failed to complete your degree. Mrs. Smith admits she never earned her degree, but wants voters to credit her for being a teacher. Mrs. Smith is misleading the voters. She is not a teacher and should not pretend otherwise," said Mary Bergan, president of the 100,000-member California Federation of Teachers. "If we can't trust Mrs. Smith to tell the truth about her own qualifications, then how could we trust her to tell the truth about how our schools are doing?"
Smith, who is listed as a "governing board member" of the Anaheim Union High School District on the statewide ballot, has described herself in news interviews as an "educator, elementary school teacher and former teacher." According to her website, she taught for about a year during college at a private school. However, the San Diego Union-Tribune (Oct. 5, 2002) reports, "Smith worked in real estate management for 30 years while also teaching briefly in private schools. She majored in elementary education, but never completed her undergraduate work."
"These types of mischaracterizations add to the political skepticism and cynicism that is sweeping our country. California voters deserve to have honest information about all candidates - especially when it comes to the future leader of our state's public schools," said Larry Aceves, president of the Association of California School Administrators.
In contrast, Jack O'Connell has been characterized as a man of integrity throughout his campaign, and his teaching credential is solid. O'Connell received his teaching credential in 1975 and taught at his alma mater, Oxnard High for five years. This summer, he taught adult education classes at Old Marshall High School in Sacramento Unified.
As a legislator, O'Connell has led efforts to improve our public schools: authoring the state's class size reduction program and legislation to improve salaries for beginning teachers, leading the fight to reduce the two-thirds vote requirement to pass local school bonds, and working to increase funding for special education and school-to-work programs.
"Jack's dedication to public education and the children of this state make him the best choice for Superintendent of Public Instruction," agreed Johnson, Bergan and Aceves.