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CTA Secretary-Treasurer Dean E. Vogel, President Barbara E. Kerr and Vice President David A. Sanchez present the Colmenares Award to Alhambra TA members Randa Littell and Larry Wiener. |
CTA will support Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts for president in the November 2004 election.
"Senator Kerry has shown himself to be a strong advocate for public education and teachers," says CTA President Barbara E. Kerr. "He believes the best way to improve our schools is supporting teachers, reducing class sizes and rebuilding crumbling classrooms, all things we have been advocating for a long time."
The vote was taken March 27 at CTA's State Council of Education, composed of nearly 800 democratically elected teacher representatives from across the state.
"Learning is more than taking tests," says Kerr. "Kerry believes as we do that individual states must have greater flexibility to build programs that work for their schools."
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And, welcome Christine Chávez (third from right) to a Hispanic Caucus event in her late grandfather's memory. Organizers included Michael Bustos from Sacramento City, Rosenda Thomas from Oakland and Bernice King from Vista. |
Sen. Kerry also won points with Council delegates by expressing opposition to school vouchers, which drain scarce funds from public schools, and support for programs that help students come to school ready to learn, among them, expanding Head Start and providing health insurance to all children.
After putting Kerry's endorsement on the floor for debate, CTA Board member Mignon Jackson told Council delegates that Kerry has proposed setting up a trust fund to fully fund federal education mandates, including special education programs and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), with "no questions asked." Kerry has also proposed that Congress and the president be prohibited from establishing federal mandates for schools without providing the funding necessary to carry them out.
"Kerry believes President Bush has broken his promise to our kids and schools by not giving them the resources they need to meet the provisions of the NCLB."
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Paul Du Nard Jr. tells Council about conditions in Lynwood Unified. |
"If we truly want to change the way education reform is pushed down on us from Washington," added Jackson, "we've got to start with the White House."
Delegates waived the written ballot and gave Kerry a resounding vote of approval.
"We will be urging our members statewide not only to support his candidacy, but also to get out and campaign for him in this very important election," said Kerr.
On the heels of a major victory at the polls in which voters approved Prop. 55, the $12 billion statewide bond measure for schools, Kerr reminded delegates that CTA's greatest challenge now is to find the resources that students and teachers need in order to succeed.
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School Nurse of the Year, Nancy Bukowski, urges teachers to support nurses. |
Pointing out that California is failing its students and public schools financially by paying an average of $27,000 a year each to support inmates in the prison system, but just over $7,000 each to support students in the public education system, she said, "We have a responsibility to do more."
Working with children's advocate Rob Reiner, CTA is collecting signatures for the Improving Classroom Education Act. By raising the tax on commercial property from 1 to 1.55 percent, the initiative would generate more than $6 billion for public schools - money that can only be spent on classrooms and quality preschool. A million signatures are needed to put the initiative on the November ballot.
"This is one chance to do something important for public schools," said CTA Executive Director Carolyn Doggett.
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Larry Fells from Redding gathers signatures to qualify CTA's Improving Classroom Education Act for the ballot. |
Taking those words to heart, approximately 100 delegates fanned out over Torrance and Santa Monica shopping malls in search of signatures after the Saturday sessions adjourned. Targeting parents with children in tow, they gathered more than 1,000 signatures in less than an hour.
"Arghh! Even T. rex knows the importance of education," said third-grade teacher Larry Fells, moving a dinosaur puppet into position on his arm to make it easier to get the attention of families. A member of the Redding Teachers Association, he added, "We're going to blitz this place. Nobody's going to get out without signing."
