BURLINGAME—The California Teachers Association State Council of Education, the union’s top governing body comprised of nearly 700 educators, voted today to oppose the recall effort against Governor Gavin Newsom. CTA President E. Toby Boyd issued the following statement:

“For the past year, each one of us has grappled with the challenges and losses posed by the pandemic and there’s no denying it has been tough. Among the many lessons we’ve learned is that when decisions are values-based and focused on the greater good, we can confront even the toughest of challenges. California educators stand in strong opposition to the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom. From our classroom vantage point during the pandemic, we didn’t always agree on approach, but we’ve never questioned his commitment to California’s students and public education.

“California educators pivoted to a new instruction model overnight and did the impossible to reach students even with the digital divide, food insecurity and centuries-old inequities that plague our communities. We have been advocating for critical safety standards for California’s schools, support for our most vulnerable districts and students, and the resources to safely reopen schools. The governor worked with us in prioritizing vaccines for essential workers, educators and school staff, and now California has the lowest COVID-19 transmission rate in the nation.

“Gov. Newsom’s commitment to California’s public schools, working families and communities is long-standing. He has worked with educators to bring accountability and transparency to corporate charter schools, support equity and social justice, and protect workers’ safety and rights on the job. While California still ranks far below the national average in per-student funding, the governor’s budget plan proposes historic increases for the restart and recovery of our school and college campuses. His plan to expand transitional kindergarten to all four-year-olds and his investment in social and emotional supports will help give students a promising start to a bright future.

“It’s also important to look at the special interests funding the recall effort. The donors belong to a national network of billionaires who attack public education and are actively working to lower wages, eliminate health care and undermine our voting rights. We’ve made a lot of progress as a state and we look forward to working with a large and broad coalition to defeat this anti-worker, anti-union recall effort.”

– E. Toby Boyd, CTA President

The recall election has been scheduled for September 14, 2021.

###

The 310,000-member CTA is affiliated with the 3-million-member National Education Association.