When Gov. Gray Davis put down his pen after midnight Sept. 30, it marked the end of one of the best legislative years for teachers, students and public education in memory.
Over the year, CTA won massive increases in funding for public schools, including a record $1.8 billion in discretionary funding. Schools were allocated $1.56 billion in funding above the Proposition 98 guarantee for 1999-2000 and $1.33 billion above the guarantee for 2000-2001. The budget is also providing K-12 schools and the community colleges with a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 3.17 percent.
CTA also pressed hard to improve retirement benefits and won nearly $12 billion to improve the lot of current and future retirees and to enhance efforts to recruit and retain the 300,000 new teachers California will need over the next decade.
These victories came in tandem with the approval of other measures directly affecting the professional environment and the pocketbooks of members. Among the most important measures signed into law was Senate Bill 1643, introduced by Sen. Jack O'Connell (D-Santa Barbara). The bill boosts and expands the state's voluntary program encouraging districts and county offices of education to increase the minimum teacher salary to $34,000. It is believed that the changes - designed to add flexibility - will make it easier for all districts to take part in the program.
Also enacted was AB 25, the CTA-backed bill by Assembly Member Kerry Mazzoni (D-San Rafael), that will implement a pilot program intended to ensure that youngsters are truly prepared to meet the increasing academic rigors of kindergarten and succeed in all academic grades. The pilot plan allows participating districts to raise the starting age for kindergarten and implement pre-kindergarten readiness programs.
CTA was also able to secure positive changes in the governor's proposed education reform proposals. As a result, funds from a new merit scholarship program will be more equitably distributed, and the merit scholarship program itself is paired with a significant expansion of the need-based Cal Grant scholarships.
As part of the governor's package, new incentives for recruiting and retaining teachers will be implemented, including an income tax credit to help make teachers whole for their classroom-related and unreimbursed expenditures.
"Over the past two years, we have won some of the greatest legislative victories in CTA's history on behalf of our members, our students, and public education," stresses CTA President Wayne Johnson. "With recent projections showing that the state's economic boom is continuing, we will redouble our efforts in the coming year to boost funding for public education and make other gains for our schools."
Len Feldman
The 1999-2000 session of the California Legislature adjourned Nov. 30, and the 2001 session convenes Jan. 3.