We're in this together

The start of the new school year is a time for promise and hope. I continue to believe that, but this is certainly not a typical year and it brings many challenges for us as educators.

Thanks to Governor Schwarzenegger, we are facing a wasteful special election in November and a series of harmful initiatives supported by the governor that attack public school funding, our professional rights as educators and our right to speak out for our students and schools.

This is certainly not the first time I've talked to you about important political issues. I know I may sound like a broken record repeating the words "political action, fall campaign" over and over. With recalls and special elections, since I became president in June 2003, voters in Los Angeles and other cities have gone to the polls an average of once every four months.

I also know that at the beginning of the school year, we want to get our classrooms organized and focus only on classroom concerns. That is not an option this year. We need to remember that this organization was founded in 1863 with one purpose: to get into politics so we could improve our public schools and our profession.

Since January, our public schools and our profession have been under attack. This special election is what it's all about.

It's about the future of all public school funding.

It's about our rights as education professionals.

It's about our right to belong to a union and have our voices heard.

Proposition 74 blames teachers for all the problems in our schools and does nothing to fix the real challenges we face. It doesn't reduce class sizes, provide up-to-date textbooks to our students or even provide quality teacher training.

Proposition 76 destroys the minimum school funding protections we fought for and voters approved in Proposition 98. It cuts $4 billion from education and gives the governor unilateral power to make midyear school budget cuts without consulting anyone.

As for Proposition 75, this one is aimed squarely at us and CTA's history of effectively advocating for students, public schools and teachers. Regardless of what the title says, Prop. 75 doesn't protect teachers and other public workers. Its hidden agenda is to silence those who oppose the governor's bad ideas for California. All of you spoke out when the governor borrowed $2 billion from the education budget, promised to pay it back, and then broke that promise. This initiative will make it harder for us to raise our voices the next time a politician slashes education funding or proposes merit pay tied to standardized test scores.

So no, we cannot afford to hide in our classrooms this fall. Defeating these initiatives is going to take all of us. We've got to get out there and talk to our colleagues, parents and community organizations. I ask you to find out how you can volunteer in this campaign. And I ask you to make sure that you and everyone you know who cares about public schools get out and vote on Nov. 8.

When I think about how we must stand up to the governor and defeat his harmful agenda, I'm reminded of an old civil rights song - with a few new verses.

When it comes to stopping the governor from destroying Proposition 98 and forever cheating our schools and students out of billions of dollars ... we shall not be moved.

When it comes to fighting the governor's plan to punish teachers by extending the probationary period to five years ... we shall not be moved.

When it comes to standing in the way of the governor's special-interest pals trying to silence the voices of teachers, nurses, counselors, social workers, librarians, education support professionals and college faculty ... we shall not be moved.

We're fighting for our classrooms ... we shall not be moved.

We're fighting for our students ... we shall not be moved.

We're fighting for our profession ... we shall not be moved.

You and I together - we're ready for November!