Loudspeaker: Get back to work ah whats that fellows name Smithers
Posted on 04/11/2002 1:26:05 PM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Teachers, Davis clash over text selection Governor raps bill that would have made it part of negotiations
Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau Thursday, April 11, 2002
Sacramento -- Setting up a major election year rift, Gov. Gray Davis broke ranks with the California Teachers Association yesterday by saying he does not support a bill to make textbook selection part of labor negotiations.
The bill, which hasn't even had its first hearing, has become the most important education issue before the Legislature this session. Teachers insist that they need a bigger say in shaping school district policy, but administrators and school boards say the legislation would make school systems less accountable to voters and parents.
The president of the teachers union, which is a campaign contributor to Davis, said he would not significantly change the bill and suggested that its members would "sit on their hands" when it comes to helping Davis' re-election bid this fall.
The Democratic governor said he does support a more "formalized" role for teachers in textbook decisions and curriculum development but does not want their input to be part of collective bargaining.
"I don't want textbooks to be held hostage to issues involving wages," he said. "The collective bargaining process is the appropriate forum for issues involving wages and salary increases, but we want textbooks in the hands of kids. On the other hand, I do think it is legitimate to ask teachers -- who see kids every day -- for their advice and guidance for which textbooks are chosen at each school."
Currently, teachers are supposed to be consulted on decisions such as which textbooks are used. But that does not always happen, the CTA said.
"I don't see any way of making the concept a reality unless it is in collective bargaining," said CTA President Wayne Johnson. "There is no other way to put teeth into it and make it enforceable."
He said ideas like a faculty senate, which is popular in higher education, were not acceptable.
"It becomes a debating society where nothing gets done," he said.
Davis and the CTA have had an on-again, off-again relationship. The governor made education his top priority when he took office, but many of his reforms have received a lukewarm reception from the union.
Nonetheless, CTA has given Davis' re-election campaign $50,000 this year. But Johnson said further support might be hard to come by, given the governor's position on the bill, AB 2160.
"I think it will cool the relationship," he said. "It will make it very difficult to generate a real enthusiastic campaign on his behalf. I think our members are more likely to sit on their hands."
The 300,000 members can be powerful not only for their financial support, but also for their ability to work precincts and get people to the polls.
The governor's position also makes it more difficult to get the bill through an already split Legislature.
Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, who is carrying the bill for the CTA, could not be reached for comment.
Opponents have argued that including selection of textbooks in collective bargaining would move the process behind closed doors and increase the time and cost for collective bargaining.
Scott Plotkin, executive director of the California School Boards Association, said he was pleased with the governor's statement.
"Putting this kind of consultation or decision making within the context of collective bargain just doesn't work," he said. "Not as long as teachers are not held accountable for student performance, which they are not. It is the administrators and school boards that are."
Johnson said the ideas he had heard from the governor were "totally unacceptable."
"If it goes down, it goes down," he said. "I'd rather have a good bill go down than pass a bad bill. And the only alternatives I've heard so far are bad bills."
It could be interesting to see how it plays out, though. The CTA is the most powerful special interest in the state (unless the prison guards have overtaken them). If they really do wind up "sitting on their hands," it would make a difference in a close race. In California, the teachers union goon's guy always wins. Or used to.
Because it would affect the One Party Cartel's "social progress".
Wouldn't that be special. I'm sure that Grayout will find a payout for them before November.
Otherwise, Grayout ping and index...
Loudspeaker: Get back to work ah whats that fellows name Smithers
For Homer's response:
1. Go to site shown above.
2. Turn up volume.
3. Click on "Homer screams."
Simpson aye well since I have no memory of you Ill let it go this time.
I agree with him on this issue, but I find his stance unconvincing considering who his real friends are.
I think this is one of his early manuvers to try and outguess Simon, whose logical gambit would be to hit on his cozy relationship with the teachers' union. Now he can say "I was against them in their naked power grab, so I'm not in their power."
Regardless of his public statements, I think this means that internally he's worried about Simon.
D
And a debating society doesn't advance the cause of socialism nearly so well as control of textbook selection. Right, Wayne, ol' buddy, ol' pal?
Good! It's time Davis did something logical and in CA citizens' interests.
There have been ads on the radio by the CTA to encourage people to "Give teachers more say on how children are taught" (repeated in similar variations at least 3 more times) and to oppose the school administrators who disagree with the CTA. It's such a distortion of the facts.
president of the teachers union, ... suggested that its members would "sit on their hands" when it comes to helping Davis' re-election bid this fall.
Boo hoo. Everyone knows they won't do that. The teachers are going to vote this fall for the State Superintendant. of Education, Katherine Smith (ok; manages Anaheim school district) vs. Jack O'Connell (bad; strongly supported by CTA; liberal dem. term-limited).
While teachers are at the polls, they'll punch the Davis hole, since Davis will have reminded them in the fall of the dozens of bills he has already signed that support teachers.
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Oh darn. No political flyers being snuck home in the kiddies' lunch boxes. What ever will the CTA goons do to keep themselves busy?
And who said union contributions weren't tied to legislation?
The good thing: the teachers' union may be lukewarm to Davis. But let's not count our chickens ... they will hate Simon's reforms because Simon believes in actually teaching kids the basics (how to read, how to write, how to computate, how to develop good character) rather than how to put on a condom, obtain an abortion, be "sensitive" to gays, protest a war, etc., etc.
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