FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BURLINGAME - It's a new school year, but teachers and students are still waiting for the governor to keep his promise to fully fund our classrooms, says a new California Teachers Association television ad that starts airing statewide today.
"Governor, school is starting again," says award-winning educator Liane Cismowski, a former Contra Costa County Teacher of the Year, standing in front of kids exiting a school bus in the ad. "And we're still waiting. Waiting for you to keep your word, and pay back the two billion dollars you borrowed from the education budget."
As in prior CTA ads, she questions Governor Schwarzenegger's agenda for education. Now, he's pursuing an expensive November special election to push a personal agenda that "hurts our schools" and would "give you the power to cut education - without consulting anyone else."
"California's educators won't tolerate the governor playing politics with our students, schools and teachers," said Barbara E. Kerr, president of the 335,000-member CTA. "How can we trust him when his political agenda is about blaming teachers and asking voters for new powers to cut education funding even more?"
Airing in all major media markets, the CTA TV ad concludes with Cismowski, who is also National Board certified, looking into the camera: "Governor, it just seems that every time we turn around, you're breaking your word to our schools and kids."
The governor's special election includes his Proposition 76, which would give him unilateral powers to make midyear school budget cuts at a time that California spends about $1,000 below the national average per student. It would also destroy the minimum school funding protections in voter-approved Proposition 98. His Proposition 74 simply blames teachers for the problems in our schools, but does nothing to reduce class sizes or provide students with adequate textbooks and materials.
Watch the TV spot.