Governor's bid to become teachers' pet: Union likes the math of school funds deal - but not photo op

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/13/6 | Phillip Matier & Andrew Ross

[SmithL]

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered a shiny $4.9 billion apple to his onetime rivals in the state teachers union this week -- but he still couldn't get the gold star he was hoping for.

Buoyed by unexpected extra billions in state revenue, Schwarzenegger called California Teachers Association President Barbara Kerr to see whether they could work a way to repay the education money he'd borrowed from schools a couple of years back to balance the state budget.

The fight over Schwarzenegger's refusal to pay back all the money led to the union's multimillion-dollar, anti-Arnold campaign on TV, which helped drive the once-popular governor's approval ratings right into the dumper.

But facing a tough re-election fight, and with a pile of money to play with, Schwarzenegger decided he was ready to make amends.

According to sources on both sides, the ensuing meetings between the governor's people and the teachers focused on two points: how much was to be repaid to the schools and how the money was to be spent.

The governor thought he owed between $2 billion and $3 billion. The teachers union, using state-mandated calculations, pegged the number at $4.9 billion -- $2 billion now and another $2.9 billion over the next seven years.

In the end, the teachers won.

Schwarzenegger also agreed to spend much of the new money on schools in lower-income areas, just as the teachers wanted.

But when those in the governor's office suggested they seal the deal with a nice joint announcement, the teachers said, "No dice."

In other words, no big photo op that Arnold could use in his re-election campaign.

"It was made very clear that this was about policy, not politics,'' said one source on the teachers' side of the talks, who didn't want to be named...

[Mojave]

The teachers treat him like a whore. Or should that be as a whore?

[claudiustg]

Their attitude will change when Arnold starts raising money for Hillary.

[aimhigh]

All these teachers care about is the MONEY. They claim they want to reduce class size, but they always turn increased money into more programs or increased salaries.