Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has placed his name and prestige at the service of reforming California politics. He has personally promoted four initiatives which will have the effect of reducing the influence of special interests in politics and promoting fiscal responsibility. Not surprisingly, the current owners of California’s political system are in an uproar. So much so, that they may be willing to bankrupt themselves to defeat the Governor.
The State Council of the California Teachers Association (CTA) voted in June to levy an additional $60 per year per teacher, for the sole purpose of defeating Arnold’s initiative campaign. According to Carlos Moreno, the CPA who manages the financial operations of the teachers’ union, the CTA took out a $14 million loan, on which they are currently paying interest. They are counting on the income stream from the increase in dues to repay this loan.
Here’s the kicker: they have already spent all of the money they expected to take in from this dues increase, for the next three years. The union has applied for an additional $40 million line of credit. Repaying this money would also require the income from the increased dues.
So what are these ballot initiatives the teachers unions are bankrupting themselves to oppose? Proposition 74 will change the length of the probationary period a teacher must work before being granted tenure. Currently, teachers have a two year probationary period. Proposition 74 would change that to a five year period during which a school district can choose not to rehire a teacher without giving specific reasons. Arnold’s team calls this the “Put the Kids First Act.” The California Teachers Association refers to it as the “Punish the Teachers Act.”
CTA says this measure is unnecessary. “California teachers are not guaranteed a job for life, which means they don’t have tenure.” (I suppose they mean that under some circumstances, school districts can down-size and lay-off teachers.) “All teachers receive after a two-year probationary period is the right to a hearing before they are dismissed.”