It was a do or die battle to save public education this year. And when push came to shove, teachers showed they could definitely do whatever is necessary.
Despite Tim Draper's nearly $30 million campaign to pass Prop. 38, 71 percent of the voters said no to the school voucher measure. Prop. 38 lost in every county in the state, receiving no more than 40 percent of the vote in any county. Every demographic category - including Republicans and conservatives - opposed it. While Draper targeted Latino and black voters, these communities soundly rejected vouchers.
By bringing out so many concerned voters, CTA also helped secure a win for Prop. 39, which allows school bonds to pass with 55 percent of the vote rather than two-thirds. The measure makes it easier for communities to fix up dilapidated schools and build new schools to address overcrowding.
CTA was also instrumental in electing pro-education candidates at the local, state and federal level and in putting California squarely in Al Gore's column in the presidential race.
Of the 122 candidates CTA recommended for California Assembly, Senate and congressional races, 80 percent won election. Fifty-three of the 68 CTA-recommended candidates for Assembly seats won, as did 13 of the 15 recommended candidates for state Senate seats and 32 of the 39 recommended candidates for congressional seats.
CTA's Los Angeles Metro Project (LAMP) was instrumental in capturing the minority vote against Prop. 38 in Southern California as well as putting the media spotlight on the measure's flaws. Receiving widespread media attention were events like the following:
- A prayer breakfast to fight Prop. 38 in the African American community was attended by more than 100 ministers representing approximately 50 churches.
- A community rally in the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles garnered support against vouchers.
- A news conference in the Latino community, led by the Mothers of East L.A., brought together several Latino organizations - Grupo Salvadoreno, Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, League of United Latin American Citizens, Mexican American Political Association, Casa Nicaragua, One-Stop Immigration and the Latino Children's Action Council - to denounce deceptive pro-38 television commercials. The Spanish-language commercials were misleading viewers into thinking they would receive $4,000 in cash for each student in the family.
- An Asian American news conference brought together representatives from different Asian American organizations to discuss the impact of vouchers on Asians and Asian Pacific Islanders.
LAMP also organized rallies on 16 community colleges and universities in the Los Angeles areas.
Meanwhile, the No on 38 campaign was holding press conferences covering every media market in the state, with special emphasis in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fresno and San Diego. Much effort was spent combatting falsehoods circulated by the Yes on 38 campaign.
When the Yes campaign tried to make senior citizens fearful of student violence, members of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) held a press conference to protest the distorted television ads.
When the Yes campaign falsely claimed that 40 percent of public teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District had their children in private schools, United Teachers Los Angeles held a news conference to clear up the misconception.
In the end it was evident that voters weren't fooled.
