A California lawmaker is asking state teachers to choose not to pay their debts because they will inevitably fund Democratic causes and help Governor Gavin Newsom fight a recall.
Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, tweeted on Sunday that teachers have a constitutional right to choose not to participate, if they so choose, and offered resources that will help them through this process.
Kiley told Fox News that he felt compelled to help teachers who are frustrated by Newsom’s closure of schools in response to the pandemic. He said he talked to many teachers who want to go back to school, but “are being prevented from doing so by their union or by the governor himself”.
“I was simply pointing out that you, as a teacher, have a very powerful tool at your disposal, which is to deprive the big unions that control the governor of their source of power, which is their funding,” said Kiley. “This is an option that is, at least in theory, available to all teachers, although California politicians have tried to make it very difficult.”
Kiley said this was especially important for teachers to know, as there is a reminder of Newsom on the horizon and the California Teachers Association (CTA) – one of the most powerful teacher unions in the country – “will spend millions to defend them as they did millions to elect him. ”
“And so, if you are a public school teacher who is very frustrated because the governor and CTA prevented you from being in your classroom and prevented your children from learning, the last thing you want is part of your salary subsidize the governor and CTA to maintain this corrupt power structure, “said Kiley.
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Contacted by Fox News to comment on Kiley’s allegations, CTA called them “history of nothing”.
“Mr. Kiley is wrong and he obviously doesn’t understand the laws,” a spokesman told Fox News.
Newsom’s initial response to the pandemic was widely praised, but its favorability ratings have plummeted in recent months, as its draconian blockade measures have affected businesses and children’s mental health.
The state saw tensions rise during the pandemic, especially among elected leaders and teachers’ unions over the resumption of classroom learning.
Although other states have resumed teaching in the classroom, California’s 10,000 public schools have been mostly closed since the pandemic began. While the majority of the state’s 6 million public school students approach the one-year anniversary of distance learning, frustrated parents are struggling with the toll of isolation and intense screen time for their children’s well-being.
The US Centers for Disease Control Prevention said that there is little evidence of the spread of infection in schools when appropriate precautions are taken. Even so, teachers’ unions will not send their instructors back to the classroom unless they are 100% vaccinated.
ARCHIVE: California Governor Gavin Newsom describes the safe reopening of schools when talking about his 2021-2022 state budget proposal during a news conference in Sacramento, California.
(AP)
Newsom said he would not force public schools to reopen, but instead wanted to “encourage them” and proposed a $ 2 billion plan that was criticized by superintendents, unions and lawmakers for being insufficient. Clearly frustrated, Newsom pleaded last week to find a solution to reopen.
Newsom told educators bluntly that he is willing to negotiate, but certain demands, including the call by unions for all teachers to be vaccinated before classes start, were unrealistic due to a shortage of vaccines.
“If everyone has to be vaccinated, we can simply tell people the truth: there will be no personal instruction in the state of California,” Newsom said last Thursday.
On the same day, CTA sent the governor a letter again criticizing his plan.
“The virus is in charge now and does not have a calendar,” said the letter. “We can’t just choose an artificial calendar date and expect to change direction by reopening all schools for face-to-face classes.”
Kiley attacked teacher unions for allegedly – more than any other special interest group – “being responsible for the state’s decline”.
“We saw this on a clear display here during covid-19 because it is the strength of these unions and their control over Newsom that has caused our schools to be closed to a greater degree than any other state (and that is) done, incalculable damage to millions of children, “said Kiley.
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The dysfunction fueled a recall campaign against Newsom. On Monday, Recall Gavin 2020 – the main organization behind the effort – said it had collected more than 1.4 out of the 1.5 million needed to qualify for a vote. They have until March 10 to collect and validate the required number of signatures.
Kiley predicted that the role of CTA in closing schools will be remembered by Californians “beyond the implications of the recall”.
“One of the things that can result from this … in the long run is that CTA has been ruining public education in California for a long time,” said Kiley. “They limited their choice of school, condemned poor children to bad schools and created a public education system that does the worst of any state for poor children or any state other than Alaska.”
“So now that the public has seen this dynamic as it is, I think it may be more difficult for them to play this game going forward and perhaps there is an opportunity for significant educational reforms.”
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Fox News made several attempts to contact the Newsom administration to comment on the recall, but received no response.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.