Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/2868
Voters across California support teacher concerns Left to right: Joe Hermann, CTA of Berryessa president; Don Dawson, CTA Board member; Vincent Nicoletta, Campbell High School Teach- ers Association president; KC Walsh, Oak Grove Educators Association president; Brian Wheatley, Evergreen Teachers Association president; and Scott Shulimson, Franklin- McKinley Education Associa- tion president. schools and students in addi- tion to electing Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. His support for education will be strengthened by new local school board can- didates, parcel taxes and bonds. “This historic election of I Barack Obama as president is a victory for all of us who care about public education,” said David A. Sanchez, president of the 340,000-member Califor- nia Teachers Associat ion. “Obama believes, as educators do, that real change only comes with real commitment and re- sources for public schools.” Voters across California echoed that same belief. “Up and down the state, voters ap- proved local bonds, showing that they are willing to invest in music and arts programs, li- braries, athletics, smaller class sizes and modernized class- rooms,” Sanchez said. “It is ev- ident that voters are willing to Voters s t atewide al so n scores of California cities on Election Day, voters cast a strong vote for public support additional resources for public schools. “Our state legislators should follow the voters’ lead and pro- vide the resources our students deserve and the long-term funding solutions our schools need. California public schools and colleges suffered a $3 bil- lion cut less than two months ago, and now legislators are looking to cut deeper in order to balance the current $11 bil- lion deficit.” Sanchez noted the many statewide races and proposi- tions where voters supported teachers’ concerns or endorse- ments. Teachers’ support made a clear difference. In fact, in the 42 local school bond and parcel tax contests where CTA provided some campaign fund- ing at the request of local edu- cators, 39 were passed by vot- ers, a success rate of 93 per- cent. Statewide, voters remark- ably approved 77 of 86 school bonds and 17 of 21 parcel tax- es, according to the California Department of Education. 28 California Educator | november 2008 showed their support for pro- tecting public school funding by defeating Proposition 6, an A sampling of victories won by local teachers > Los Angeles Unified School District voters approved a $7 billion bond measure — touted as the largest school bond ever — to repair and modernize schools in the na- tion’s second-largest district of 694,000 students. > Orange County voters in five districts approved more than $430 million in K-12 school bonds. > Torrance Unified voters passed two bond measures after officials warned that if voters rejected both, one or more elementary schools would have to be sold to fund vital projects. > Pasadena Unified voters approved a $350 million school bond for major ren- ovations. > In Yuba County, the $47 million bond in Marysville will fund many school im- provements. unwise initiative that would have wasted millions of dollars in the midst of our staggering budget crisis, and by electing pro-education candidates to the state Legislature and Con- gress. In the San Francisco Bay Area, 20 of 22 local tax and bond measures passed, even though parcel taxes need two- thirds of the votes to pass, and school bonds require 55 per- cent to pass. CTA supported the cam- paign for Measure D, the re- newal of a parcel tax generat- Continued on page 32 Voters and teachers also made a difference in school board elections > Voters ousted one San Diego Unified school board mem- ber who was opposed by the San Diego Education Associa- tion, which now has a class- room-friendly majority on the board in the state’s second- largest school district of 140,000 students. Thanks to a well-organized SDEA cam- paign against Mitz Lee, this was the first time in nearly 30 years that voters unseated a board incumbent. > In Sacramento City Unified, all seven school board members are now supported by the Sacra- mento City Teachers Associa- tion, which helped elect four board members in this election. > In the Bay Area, teachers in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District now have a teacher- focused majority to count on after they re-elected a dedi- cated incumbent and re- placed another incumbent. CTA photo by Mike Myslinski