Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/13098
¡Sí Se Puede! ¿Por Qué No? B Y C TA P R E S I D E N T D A V I D A. S A N C H E Z big wins in the Ju ne pr imary e lection. Thanks to our hard work, California voters soundly rejected the top-down reform agen- da of state Senator Gloria Romero as they voted for CTA-supported Tom Torlakson and former superintendent Larry Aceves to advance to the November runoff for state superintendent of public instruction. It was a vote against the state budget cuts, the one- size-fits-all mandates of Sacramento and Washington, and the blame game against teachers. It shows what we can accomplish when we work together. But we still have much to do. As we bring W this school year to an end, dealing with yet another year of drastic cuts to public educa- tion, it’s clear that we have our work cut out for us in the coming months. We’re facing and fighting the largest budget cuts in Cali- fornia since the Great Depression. Tens of thousands of our members have lost their jobs — forcing class sizes to increase and many educational programs to be eliminat- ed. More than $17 billion has been cut from California public schools and colleges in the last two years, equaling a c ut of nearly $3,000 per student. We’re seeing scathing at- tacks on our most experienced teachers, swelling class sizes, and an administration that believes federal education funding and support should be based on a competition that labels a few students and schools win- ners and the rest losers. We know that i t’s not that simple. So many of our lawmakers today are looking for easy answers — a quick fix for the problems facing our s tate and our schools — and have neglected to listen to teachers, the professionals working every day on education’s front line. We know that there are no easy answers or quick cure-alls. We know that what’s needed now from law- makers are solutions that are proven to 4 California Educator | JUNE 2010 ¿Por Qué No? e have some good news to cele- brate: CTA-supported candi- dates and school measures scored work. But proven solutions, like smaller class sizes and quality professional develop- ment, take money to implement, and if the governor sells the Legislature on another cuts-only budget, things are only going to get worse. Fortunately, Assembly Speaker John Perez has proposed a budget solution that does not suspend or manipulate the Proposition 98 c onstitutional funding guarantee for public education and does not impose more cuts on schools. We will be working with the Assembly and the Senate, encouraging them to approve this version of the state budget. The June primary race was about more than who will become the next state super- intendent. It was a California referendum on the Obama-Duncan reform agenda. Cal- ifornia voters spoke loud and clear, showing their support for education reform that focuses on proven reforms and on parents, teachers and administrators working to- gether to best meet the needs of students in their neighborhood schools. As we approach this November’s general election, we’ll need your involvement with the governor’s race between Jerry Brown, who has made a firm commitment to sup- port te achers an d public s chools, an d billionaire businesswoman Meg Whitman, who has spent $71 million of her own mon- ey on the primary, essentially trying to buy the office. We’ll need to work hard over the coming months to keep our members informed and engaged through the election. It’s not too soon to begin talking with your friends and families about why supporting public edu- cation at the polls is so important to the fu- ture of our state, or why California’s tax structure needs fundamental changes if our public schools are going to have the chance to thrive again. While most people will agree that change in Sacramento is necessary, getting them to Continued on page 38 ¡Sí Se Puede! [Yes we can! Why not?], words inspired by César Chávez, encourage us to remember that, together, we can achieve great things. EDITOR IN CHIEF Dave Earl Carpenter STAFF WRITER Sherry Posnick-Goodwin CTA WEB EDITOR Karyn Ferrera Donhoff CTA WEB EDITOR Tiffany Hasker EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Craig Hamilton CTA ELECTED OFFICERS PRESIDENT David A. Sanchez VICE PRESIDENT Dean E. Vogel SECRETARY˜TREASURER Gail M. Mendes BOARD OF DIRECTORS Larry Allen, E. Toby Boyd, Donald L. Bridge, Tyrone V. Cabell, Mikki Cichocki, Elana Davidson, Don Dawson, Dana Dillon, David Goldberg, Jim Groth, Dián Dolores Hasson, Eric C. Heins, Marty G. Meeden, George Melendez, Theresa Montaño, Mary Rose Ortega, Cynthia Peña, Jim Rogers, Bonnie Shatun, Marc Sternberger, Michael Stone, Curtis Washington EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Carolyn Doggett ASSOCIATE EXEC. DIRECTOR Rebecca Zoglman COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Jonathan Goldman CONTRIBUTORS Scott Buschman, Dave Crosland, Len Feldman, Bill Guy, Diane Morte, Mike Myslinski, Kamran Nasser EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Katie Young, chair; Ami S. Barker, Misao Brown, Rosalyn Collier, Tony P. Diaz, Michael Downey, Linda Guthrie, Gregg Solkovits, Sandra Thornton, KC Walsh; Jim Groth (Board liaison) EDITORIAL INFORMATION California Educator is published for the information and edification of its members. The editorial philoso- phy is governed by the policies of CTA. Articles and advertising reflect that philosophy. Letters to the editor may be sent to editor@cta.org. Publication of advertising in the California Educa- tor does not indicate CTA approval of the product or of the companies that purchase advertising. 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