I’m almost afraid to say it out loud, but it appears that my run as the “Election President” has finally come to an end. After having a statewide election every six months on average since I became president of CTA in 2003, we closed that chapter on Nov. 7 with tremendous victories for our public schools, students and educators.
It was truly a great day for the future of public education. We didn’t win every race, but we worked hard and came up with a few surprises nationally that could significantly change education policy trends in Washington.
Starting here at home, I want to thank all of you once again for your hard work in this campaign. I know it was difficult, coming out of last year’s hard-fought victories, to gear up for an election once again while starting a new school year at the same time. But you did it! CTA members made thousands of phone calls and led the effort to pass Proposition 1D, the statewide school construction bond. We won more than 70 percent of our local school board races and bond measures. Just to name a few, teacher-supported candidates won in Chico, Rocklin, Sacramento, Santa Monica, Tehachapi, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Fallbrook, Hesperia and Calexico. You also won 23 out of 26 local school bond and parcel tax measures.
The passage of Prop. 1D will let local school districts reduce overcrowding and give our teachers, education support professionals and students the safe, clean schools they deserve. It means state matching funds to ensure that our schools and colleges are earthquake-safe. It means additional resources to provide technical and career training for students. And it means money to build science and research labs at our state universities and colleges.
This is the third statewide school bond that CTA has successfully passed since 2002. In that time, we’ve brought more than $35 billion in state bonds to help local school districts repair and upgrade old facilities and build new classrooms to reduce overcrowding. You should be proud of this hard work and take credit when critics want to know what CTA has done to help local schools. These bonds would not have passed without you.
CTA-supported candidates for state constitutional, legislative and congressional offices won 84 percent of their races. The defeat of Phil Angelides for governor was certainly disappointing, but our support for Phil was the right decision. While traveling across the state with him during the closing days of the election, I witnessed again and again his tremendous dedication to our public schools and to the working families of California. His belief that a strong economy and a brighter future start with providing a quality public education to all students remains at the core of our CTA values.
It’s important to remember that our efforts last year sparked many of the changes in Governor Schwarzenegger’s tone this year. He settled the CTA lawsuit and repaid the money owed to our schools. And under pressure to move toward the center, he signed legislation to raise the minimum wage, regulate prescription drugs and protect the environment. Time will tell if the governor will truly make education a top priority. But one thing has not changed — regardless of who sits in the governor’s office, the teachers of California will be fighting for what’s best for students and their future.
In other statewide races, the wins of John Garamendi for lieutenant governor and John Chiang for controller are particularly important for educators. Both of these leaders understand the importance of providing a secure retirement to public employees so California can attract and retain quality teachers in every classroom.
But our biggest victory this November very well may have come at the federal level. The change in leadership in both the House and Senate is very promising for the future of public schools. The first education battle in 2007 will be the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. We now have an opportunity to get rid of President Bush’s punitive sanctions against struggling schools and replace them with assistance and support. Working with NEA, we have a positive agenda for ESEA reauthorization. It includes accountability that rewards success and supports educators. It calls for smaller class sizes to improve student learning, additional support from parents and families, and resources to ensure quality schools for every child.
The new Congress gives us an opportunity to finally repeal the Social Security Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision, which have unjustifiably lowered retirement benefits for tens of thousands of school employees. With new leadership, we should be able to get these bills out of committee and put Senator Feinstein’s Social Security Fairness Act to a vote. And finally, this new Congress brings the hope of real health care reform, changes that could ease struggles at our local bargaining tables.
It has been two long years of elections and campaigns — including one year wasted on an agenda that nobody wanted. With a new state Legislature and a new Congress, it’s now time to focus on education policy that will help our public schools and improve student learning.
It will take all of us to make that happen — teachers, college faculty, education support professionals, families, business leaders and elected officials. But I know CTA is up to that challenge. Look at all we’ve accomplished already by working together!
