Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/20186
¿Por Qué No? ¡Sí Se Puede! B Y C TA P R ESIDEN T D A VID A. S ANCHEZ measures won huge victories at the November polls, creating a change in favor of education. We will certainly experience more tough W times ahead, but now we have good, supportive people on our side. Governor-elect Jerry Brown knows it is important to include educators, par- ents and local leaders in discussions about reform that will affect the schools in their com- munities. We have not always agreed with him on everything, but Jerry Brown has been a gover- nor and public official we can talk to and work with. He respects the work educators do to make our schools the best they can be. Tom Torlakson will continue to be a positive influence on behalf of educators and an advocate for public schools with the public and with the Legislature. He has also been a strong advocate for parental involvement in the schools and rec- ognizes it as critical to improving student achievement. As superintendent of public in- struction, Torlakson will use his office to protect education funding and fight for our students. Another change in favor of public education and reforming our state budget mess is the ap- proval of Proposition 25, the On-Time Budget Act. Enabling the Legislature to pass a budget with a simple majority — rather than the two- thirds vote that had been required — will mean less chance of legislative gridlock and greater likelihood that the budget will be delivered on time. Prop. 25 holds legislators accountable if they fail to pass the budget on time, and for every day the budget is late, lawmakers will be docked a day’s pay. No budget, no pay — and no payback later. This alone will be the biggest win in helping educators to plan effectively for school budgets. Your involvement and voice made all of this happen. CTA members came out across the state, placing thousands of phone-banking calls and showing up at the polls. Now we need to channel the momentum we’ve created into the fight for proper funding in the classroom. The new governor and Legislature will face the state’s abysmal budget deficit, which the Leg- islative Analyst’s Office has recently projected to be a $25 billion shortfall by the 2011-12 budget ¿Por Qué No? ¡Sí Se Puede! [Yes we can! Why not?], words inspired by César Chávez, encourage us to remember that, together, we can achieve great things. 4 California Educator | NOVEMBER 2010 hat an exciting election year this has been for all of us! With the help of CTA’s incredibly motivated mem- bers, pro-education candidates and year. As they begin their work, officials will con- tinue to hear from CTA and educators around the state, reminding them of the devastating ef- fects that the previous cuts, already exceeding $21 billion in three years, have had on California classrooms. It will be important for all of us to remain engaged and focused on what’s happen- ing in Sacramento, and to tell the stories of our local schools. There is talk of a special legislative session being called for Dec. 6 by Gov. Arnold Schwar- zenegger to address the deficit of about $6.1 bil- lion in the current budget year. The good news is that newly elected officials responsible for bal- ancing the budget in the long term understand our schools have already been cut too much. The bad news is that the deficit numbers are so tre- mendous that the Legislature needs to look at drastic measures to fix the shortfall and create additional revenues. Unfortunately, voters did not pass CTA- sponsored Proposition 24, which would have rolled back more than $1.3 billion in corporate tax breaks that are scheduled to begin next year. Their refusal to eliminate the $1.3 billion in corporate giveaways will leave legislators scrambling to find ways to reduce state spend- ing by a similar amount. The passage of Prop- osition 26, which requires a two-thirds vote to approve fees and makes it more difficult for the state to increase revenues, also causes new problems for lawmakers. While we face many challenges ahead, we can all look at the progress we’ve made this year as a terrific accomplishment. Later this month CTA will host a symposium on QEIA (the Quality Ed- ucation Investment Act) to discuss how we are leading reforms, showing preliminary results of the success of the program. I’m so proud of each and every one of you for your hard work on behalf of our schools and stu- dents and the future of public education. Let’s keep that momentum going. Let’s not stop until we have a public school system that all Califor- nians can be truly proud of. 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, Carole Anne Luckenbach, Dina Martin, 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. 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