Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/477973
Assembly Member Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) discusses educational funding and local school governance issues with CTA Board Member Jim Groth, one of her constituents. Other key issues During their conversations with lawmakers, CTA representatives also talked about: • Tax fairness. CTA believes that all Californians should pay a fair share of the costs of running the state and maintaining high-quality public education. Unfortunately, loopholes often allow wealthy, corporate special interests to pay less than they should. CTA will continue to advocate for tax fairness and for closing tax loopholes that benefit corporate interests. • Charter school transparency. CTA sup- ports legislation to increase transparency and accountability for California charter schools. All public schools, including charter schools, should be held account- able for their use of taxpayer dollars and their effectiveness. • Common Core. CTA is working to ensure that schools receive sufficient fund- ing to continue to implement the new state standards. Implementation should include funding for professional develop- ment to help teachers and instructional staff ensure the effectiveness of the new programs. Did you know? With CTA's help, a growing number of elected officials have teaching backgrounds. In 2014, CTA helped elect Assembly Member Patrick O'Donnell (D-Long Beach), who taught in Long Beach and served on CTA's State Council. He chairs the Assembly Education Committee. Other lawmakers taught at the elementary, high school or community college level before their election to the Legislature. Among them is Assembly Member Jose Medina (D-Riverside), who was a member of the Riverside City Teachers Association and served on State Council. "teacher pipeline." Budget cuts and layoffs have led to a 50 percent decline in enrollments in teacher education programs, CTA Board members told lawmakers. Schools are already critically short of teachers in special education, mathematics and science. During their meetings with lawmakers, CTA represen- tatives shared copies of CTA's "Teacher Preparation and Early Career Support" report (cta.org/teacherprepreport) as a guide to the best approach to ensure that new teachers have the supports they need to enter the classroom prepared and ready to reach, teach and inspire. Many of the challenges facing public education stem from years of under- funding. Voter-approved Proposition 30 stopped further cuts and is restoring some funding. Educators, parents and students are concerned about what will happen when the temporary taxes put into place by Proposition 30 expire. This year alone, Proposition 30 brought more than $10 billion in funding for public schools and colleges. CTA Board Member Kendall Vaught and Assembly Member Tom Daly (D-Anaheim) discuss securing desperately needed funding and maintaining a highly qualified educational workforce. Advocacy 31 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 7