In Democrat states, the teachers unions decide on when schools open, not elected representatives.
If you are surprised public schools in Democrat controlled states are still unopened, don’t be. In Democrat run states, the teacher unions call the shots and always have. It doesn’t matter they are not following the science and that students are perfectly safe to return to school. Indeed, private schools throughout the country are open and public schools in Republican-controlled states are open without any issues. In California, the California Teachers Association (CTA) will not allow the schools to open unless certain political conditions are met. The CTA has this power since they pours millions of dollars into making sure the Democrats remain in control of the state. In return, California teachers are among the highest paid and enjoy the most generous pensions in the country. By the way, that doesn’t mean California schools are performing well; they aren’t. The scores for math and reading for California students are among the worse in the country.
As the only living conservative to chair the California Assembly Education Committee, I know how this game works. Not once can I recall the Democrats on my committee breaking with the teacher’s union. Not once. In fact, many Dems would walk into my committee hearings with a “cheat sheet” given to them by the CTA lobbyist and without even listening to any witnesses or testimony, they would simply mark their votes EXACTLY how the union told them to. Folks, it has been that way for decades. You could abolish the Legislature and turn over control of our schools to the unions and the result would be exactly the same.
At the local level, it’s not much different. The union controls 99% of the school districts in California -- even in conservative areas. Why is that? Once again, it’s the unions. They groom their candidates, fund their campaigns and pay for slick direct mail, signs, and ads to convince naive voters – including many Republicans —to vote for their candidates.
One of their tactics is to claim their candidates are “Endorsed by Teachers.” No, they’re not. That means they’re endorsed by the Union. And that means that candidate has already sold out to union demands regarding pensions, benefits, salaries, etc. Whenever you see a candidate “endorsed by the Teachers,” understand that they will NOT be representing the taxpayer and/or the parents; they will be representing the union. Period.
The schools in Democrat-controlled states will only open when the Union says so. It doesn’t matter what Gov. Newson or anyone in power says. Our elected officials have given the union so much power that they now make the big decisions. In California, the Union will make the final decision. You, the taxpayers do not have control anymore. It does not matter if you protest at the local school board meeting. No matter what they tell you, they don’t have the power to open the school. In Democrat states, the union controls education policy and they will decide when the schools reopened. Remember, while most taxpayers struggle with making ends meet, the union has made sure that all salaries and benefits continue, so they’re in no hurry to open up our schools. This is the new norm folks. The Democrats gave this power to the union many years ago and as long as ignorant voters keep voting the Democrats into office, this will not change.