Who originally wrote the state bill? Often the bills are written by lobyists.

"Tommy Ochoa, vice president of the Mountain View Educator's Association, said the more than $20 million in reserve funds could be used to increase teacher salaries and compensation."

Sure, let's use our reserves to pay teachers more. Then, when the State renegs on their promised (again), we cant just fire them because we can't pay them.

You cannot use reserves (which is ONE-TIME money) to increase salaries (which is NOT one-time debt).

Is "vice president of the Mountain View Educator's Association" a position that is voted on? Maybe that is why he would suggest such a thing.

Whew! something about this sneaky process smells all the way to MV. I favor better salaries for teachers, period. The end justifying these means I do not like at all.

Reducing local solutions is always suspect I think.

Who designed and proposed and supported this bill? Does anyone know? I bet a conflict of interest is at the core of this solution.

It was the CTA and the other unions that stuck that in there. They want money for nothing ….. and keep in mind, the STRS pension is based on your salary when you leave teaching. Pay more now, get more later. Until we all go broke. There are a lot of older teachers, Baby Boomers ( 52-65) getting ready to retire. They don't really care about the younger ones. They are hoping the pensions will hold until they kick the bucket - too bad for everyone else)

Government and legislation brought to you by and paid for by the California Teachers Association. Doesn't this give you warm fuzzes about your child's teacher?

Unrealistic pensions are at the root of this. There is no quick fix. This is the pain we must go through for the mistakes of the past.

@hmm, it may surprise you that many people don't lump everyone into a group of good or bad based on their job. This changes nothing about how I feel about the INDIVIDUAL teaching my child. Though bigotry has many faces, I can still recognize it when I see it.

Wikipedia reminds us: Bigotry is a state of mind where a person holds stubborn and complete views regarding other groups with fear, distrust, prejudice or hatred solely on the basis of ethnicity, race, religion, national origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or other group characteristics.

Until I see teachers stand up against the teachers union I will continue to have my extreme view. The only teachers I have any respect for do just that. Unfortunately, most teachers are towing the line out of fear of their fellow teachers or they agree with the CTA. Neither one of those items brings warm feelings. Let's face it, I can lump teachers together because I do not see the majority or even a minority of teachers standing with signs going against the union. More often than not, teachers who have views in the minority (who want to do well by their students) are bullied by the majority of teachers who do not hold their views. Often, these teachers are forced to create their own charter schools or private schools in order to make an impact on large groups of students. One only needs to look at our failing schools to see this played out. Good teachers are bullied out of the public school system.

Lump. Lump. Lump. Maybe the good teachers will be emboldened and angered enough to do something!

I guess I am a bigot and proud of it, because I will continue to speak out as long as their is a problem as there clearly is with the majority.


Don't anyone dare to hold up a school as being "good" because of API scores. High scoring schools are a product of the parenting and affluence to pay for summer camps and tutoring and are not a reflection of effective teaching (that isn't to say that there aren't effective good teachers at those schools). If high scores came down to good, effective teachers we wouldn't have huge discrepancies in scores across demographics. A teacher who relies on parents to supplement at home is doomed to fail. Good, effective teachers (in the minority) recognize this and are able to get around socio-economic barriers. Collectively, teachers would rather make excuses and play the blame game all the while complaining about their salaries.

Charter Schools are public schools, and most do not a teachers union, and somehow they end up with some really great fantastic teachers. Teachers at my kids school work for merit pay rather than salary steps. It lets young dynamic teachers earn more.

It will be a great day when all of our local schools are charters.